Spatial distribution of dental fluorosis among preschool children from Public Schools in Alfenas, Southwest Region, Brazil

Dental fluorosis is a common developmental dental alteration and highly prevalent in many Brazilian cities. The aim of the present study was to investigate the spatial distribution of dental fluorosis among schoolchildren in the city of Alfenas,Southwest Region, Brazil. The study included schoolchildren of both genders, age ranging between 8 and 11 years, enrolled in 4 public schools in the city. The children’s examination and data collection were performed by a dentist and dental fluorosis was assessed using the Dean index. For statistical analyses, chi-square test was used to compare gender distribution according to fluorosis subtype (alpha=0.05).A Geographic Information System was builtto perform the geoprocessing procedures. Each child's home address was geocoded on a map and later applied the kernel density estimator. The final sample includes 353 children. Two hundred ninety children (82.15%)did not present dental fluorosis. None of the children presented moderate or severe subtypes of dental fluorosis. The spatial analysis of the distribution of very mild and mild cases of dental fluorosis among preschool children in the city of Alfenas indicated an occurrence of intra¬urban differentials. The prevalence of dental fluorosis is low in schoolchildren from Alfenas and thespatial analysis revealed geographic differences.