Abstract
Mottled enamel teeth have been found in Sakura-Jima before 1955 and various papers concerning mottle teeth have been reported.
The water survice supply in Sakura-Jima has been improved since 1956. Since then, nobody has conducted a follow up study in regard to mottle teeth in Sakura-Jima.
The aim of this study was to clarify the effects of the improvement of water survice supply in comparison with the prevalence of mottle teeth reported before 1955 and to grasp the state of mottle teeth and to discuss the influence of mottle teeth to oral health administration.
This survey was made on 1158 nursery school and school children at Sakura-Jima.
The results obtained was as follows:
1) Enamel Hypocalcification which was detected by clinical examination in this survey was classified as mottled teeth based on the interrelationship among the prevalence, severity of the hypocalcification and the concentration of fluorine.
2) The prevalance of mottled teeth in Sakura-Jima was 10.7%. All of the mottled teeth detected in this survey were mild cases (M1).
3) Mottled teeth were mainly detected in children who were consumed water with over 0.3 ppm of fluorine.
4) The caries inhibitory effect by mean of fluorine in drinking water at Sakura-Jima was not confirmed by this survey.
