Association between the Dental Fluorosis and Dental Caries among 12 and 15 Years School-going Children in Rural and Urban Areas of Srikakulam District

Background: Oral illnesses also impact children’s appearance, quality of life, food intake, and development. Good oral health practices are necessary from a growing age to ensure positive long-term oral health and hygiene. Fluoride is “double edge sword” that has an extreme effect on dental tissues. Aim and Objectives: To assess the association between the dental fluorosis and dental caries among 12 and 15 years school-going children in rural and urban areas of Srikakulam district. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted among 12- and 15-year-old urban and rural school children, Srikakulam District, Andhra Pradesh. A maximum of 25–30 subjects will be examined each day. Multistage cluster sampling technique was used to get the desired sample size. Srikakulam town is divided into rural and urban regions. The examinations were carried out in a well-illuminated classroom by a trained and calibrated examiner with the help of a recorder. ADA Type III Dental examination of the study subjects was carried out under natural light. Results: a total of 1400 study participants, out of 289 12 years old and 411 of 15 years old in the rural area. 287 participants were 12 years old, and 411 were 15 years old in the urban area. The mean DMFT for 12-year-olds is 1.27, and 1.56 for 12- and 15-year-olds in rural areas. 15.9% were affected with severe fluorosis in both age groups in rural areas. About 15.9% has severe fluorosis. There is an association of dental fluorosis and caries. Conclusion: Dental Caries and dental fluorosis are the major oral health problems. Although the caries experience in the present study is not so high, still, provision should be made to render treatment to the children affected by caries. The is a great need for introducing various small-scale methods of defluoridation in the present study area to prevent dental fluorosis.