A house to house survey in six rural villages in South India was conducted to assess the influence of undernutrition and environmental fluoride on deciduous dental eruption. Three villages surveyed were from the endemic fluorosis area where the estimated fluoride concentration was 5 ± 1.2 ppm. Oral cavities of all the children in the age group 5–48 months were examined and a teeth was marked erupted when it was visible emerging through the gingiva. Undernutrition, as classified by Gomez classification, was widely prevalent among preschool children in the surveyed area, (n = 708; normal: 5.1% grade‐I:29.1%: grade‐II:53.1% and grade‐III: 12.7%). Children in the severe grade of malnutrition possessed less number of teeth at a given age. Analysis of variance revealed that fluoride has significant (p < .005) detrimental effects on dental eruption among children in the 18–30 month age group. The efficacy of Bailey's formula (age in months = number of teeth erupted + 6) in indicating the chronologic age was evaluated in the 5–24 month aged children (n = 347). Bailey's formula failed to assess the age correctly in 87%, with underassessment in 58% and overassessment in 29%. It's efficacy did not differ between the endemic and non‐endemic areas. We conclude that i) undernutrition is a prevalent problem in rural areas in South India, ii) age calculation by Bailey's formula did not indicate the chronologic age in the majority of children and hence is not useful in undernourished populations and iii) undernutrition compounded by high water fluoride may delay the eruption of teeth.
Ecology of Food and Nutrition
Volume 30, 1993 - Issue 2
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