J Water Health. 2019 Dec;17(6):845-862. doi: 10.2166/wh.2019.300.

Factors influencing the relationship between fluoride in drinking water and dental fluorosis: a ten-year systematic review and meta-analysis.

Akuno MH¹, Nocella G², Milia EP³, Gutierrez L¹.

Abstract

The relationship between naturally fluoridated groundwater and dental fluorosis has received large attention from researchers around the world. Despite recognition that several factors influence this relationship, there is a lack of systematic studies analyzing the heterogeneity of these results. To fill such a gap, this study performs a systematic review and meta-analysis to understand which factors influence this relationship and how. Selected studies were sampled between 2007 and 2017 from Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus using keywords and Boolean operators. Results of the systematic review show that dental fluorosis affects individuals of all ages, with the highest prevalence below 11, while the impact of other factors (gender, environmental conditions, diet and dental caries) was inconclusive. Meta-regression analysis, based on information collected through systematic review, indicates that both fluoride in drinking water and temperature influence dental fluorosis significantly and that these studies might be affected by publication bias. Findings show that fluoride negatively affects people's health in less developed countries. The conclusions discuss policy tools and technological innovations that could reduce fluoride levels below that of the World Health Organization (WHO) (<1.5 mg/L).

J Family Med Prim Care. 2019 Oct 31;8(10):3108-3113. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_648_19. eCollection 2019 Oct.

Interventions in management of dental fluorosis, an endemic disease: A systematic review.

Shahroom NSB¹, Mani G¹, Ramakrishnan M¹.

Abstract

Objective:

Mottling and pitting of enamel due to excess fluoride consumption may affect one's self-esteem due to unaesthetic appearance and also in turn can affect the quality of life. This present study was conducted to assess various treatment approaches available for patients with dental fluorosis.

Materials and Methods:

Literatures were searched from August 1998 to August 2019 for articles in the management of dental fluorosis. The databases used were National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and Google Scholar. In NCBI, the filters were modified to randomized controlled trial, clinical trial, human trial, and free full-text articles. The following queries were used in order to search for the article: treatment for dental fluorosis, intervention of dental fluorosis, and management of dental fluorosis.

Results:

All the five studies selected after screening were randomized controlled trials. Total number of patients included in this study were 304 with the mean age of 17.7 years old. They were treated with microabrasion, bleaching, resin infiltration or combination of microabrasion with bleaching, and resin infiltration with bleaching. Microabrasion resulted in less esthetic improvement compared with bleaching. Meanwhile, resin infiltration showed a greater improvement in esthetics in comparison to bleaching. Resin infiltration with additional infiltration time and combination of resin infiltration with bleaching are the best treatment options.

Conclusion:

Based on this systematic review, resin infiltration with increased infiltration time is the best treatment approach in treating dental fluorosis.