Relation between Dental Fluorosis and Intelligence Quotient of School Children in Nagpur - A Cross-Sectional Study

Dr. Manveen Kaur Lamba; Dr. Sadanand Kulkarni; Dr. Arun Sajjanar; Dr. Priyanka Gupta; Dr. Sumit Rajewar

Volume : IX, Issue : V, May - 2020

Relation between Dental Fluorosis and Intelligence Quotient of School Children in Nagpur - A Cross-Sectional Study

Dr. Manveen Kaur Lamba, Dr. Sadanand Kulkarni, Dr. Arun Sajjanar, Dr. Priyanka Gupta, Dr. Sumit Rajewar

Abstract :

Background: Abating controversy over fluoride is rekindling with findings on animals and aborted foetuses confirming excessive fluoride intake during infancy causes irreversible changes in the CNS. Aim: To investigate the effect of excessive fluoride intake on the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of children in Nagpur. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 130 school children aged 9-13 years. Children were categorized using Dean�s Fluorosis Index Modified Criteria. Fluid intelligence and visual discrimination were assessed using Raven�s Progressive Matrices Test and Seguin Form Board Test respectively. Results: Mean scores for IQ grade was found significantly higher among children without dental fluorosis than with dental fluorosis (p-value 0.043). Conclusion: The current study states that excessive fluoride intake has an effect on IQ and children with fluorosis have low Intelligence Quotient than those without fluorosis.