A laboratory assessment of enamel hypoplasia of teeth with varying severities of dental fluorosis

The effect of lifelong exposure to drinking‐water containing fluoride on tooth enamel microhardness was investigated. Dental fluorosis of teeth from adult subjects, who lived continuously since birth in areas characterized by the hot climate of India, supplied by drinking‐water containing between 0·5 and 8·7 parts/10 F, was estimated by the Dean score. Tooth enamel sections were examined from the enamel surface towards the dentino–enamel junction (DEJ) for microhardness. Separated enamel crowns were pulverized and analysed for fluoride. Regarding the distribution of the fluoride concentrations in the drinking‐water, we selected a partition below and above 0·8 parts/10 F as a criterion for comparison between the results. Tooth enamel of humans from Israel living in a drinking‐water area containing about 0·5 parts/10 F was also examined. Positive associations were evident between fluoride in drinking‐water, fluoride concentrations in the bulk enamel and fluorosis selection. A significantly high inverse relationship was evident between the fluoride concentration of the drinking‐water and the subsurface enamel microhardness. In similar fluoride‐concentration drinking‐water areas of India and Israel the microhardness of the subsurface enamel was less for the Indian teeth. The microhardness of the enamel near the DEJ for the three different water fluoride‐concentration areas was not significantly different.