AIMS: To assess the prevalence and distribution of developmental defects of enamel and caries in 14-year-old @entity1 who had been lifetime residents in a region with different concentrations of @entity1388 in drinking water in @entity3595 Lanka. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Uda Walawe--a rural area in southern @entity3595 Lanka where @entity1388 concentration in ground water is reported to be within the range of 0.05-6.10 mg/l. METHOD: A total of 518 @entity1 from six representative schools from this area were examined for developmental defects of enamel and @entity1547 using the modified DDE index and WHO criteria. The present analysis is limited to 486 @entity1 from whom drinking water samples were collected. RESULTS: Based on the @entity1388 concentration of the drinking water source the @entity1 were categorised into four groups: <0.3, 0.31-0.49, 0.5-0.7 and >0.7 mg/l. The prevalence of enamel defects ranged from 29-57% whilst 27-55% of @entity1 were affected by diffuse opacities in the four groups. Of the ten teeth examined, between 1.6-3.6 teeth per @entity1 were affected by enamel defects. Maxillary first premolars were the most commonly affected by diffuse opacities followed by the maxillary @entity235 . Caries prevalence varied between 18-25% whilst the mean DMFT and DMFS values ranged from 0.29-0.54 and 0.45-0.67 respectively. Occlusal surfaces were the most affected by caries. CONCLUSIONS: The wide differences observed in the prevalence and severity of enamel defects indicate that there are variations in individual response to high @entity1388 levels in drinking water. It also demonstrates the need to ascertain the factors that could contribute to the prevalence and severity of enamel defects other than high @entity1388 levels in drinking water.

Prevalence and distribution of enamel defects and XXXX in a region with different concentrations of @entity1388 in drinking water in @entity3595 Lanka.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['children', 'child'] @entity235 :: ('9615', 'Species') :: ['canines'] @entity1547 :: ('MESH:D003731', 'Disease') :: ['dental caries'] @entity3595 :: ('6717', 'Gene') :: ['Sri'] @entity1388 :: ('MESH:D005459', 'Chemical') :: ['fluoride']
@entity1547 :: (MESH:D003731,Disease) :: ['dental caries']
