The demographic and social variation in the prevalence of dental enamel opacities in north Wales.

Abstract

The variation in the prevalence of developmental defects of enamel in areas of North Wales with low levels of fluoride in the drinking water was studied. Significant differences in the prevalence of diffuse opacities were found for the ten county districts in the study area. In addition, there was an association between area deprivation, as measured using the Townsend index, and diffuse opacity prevalence. The prevalence of subjects with one or more diffuse opacities was lower in more deprived electoral wards than those less deprived. For demarcated opacities and hypoplastic defects in the ten county districts, the prevalences were not significantly different and there was no association with area deprivation.