Environmental Arsenic Contamination and its Effect on Dental Caries Experience in School Children

Aims and Objectives: To assess the effect of exposure to arsenic by drinking water and caries prevalence in children.Material and Methods: A total of 200 children between 10 to 14 years of age, 100 each from study village (Hutti, Raichur district, Karnataka) and control village (Sanduru, Bellary district, North Karnataka) were included in the study. Water samples from both the villages were analyzed for arsenic levels. Arsenic levels were determined in the hair and nail samples from the subjects to assess chronic arsenic exposure. Caries experience was measured by the DMFT/deft index and the severity of caries was measured by modified ICDAS-II index.Results: The mean concentration of arsenic in the study group was found to be 2.44 ppm in the hair samples and 2.72 ppm in the nail samples as compared to 0.12 ppm in both hair and nail samples in the control group. These values were statistically significant (p< 0.001). The mean DMFT score in the control group was 0.99 and in the study group was 2.45, which was statistically significant (p< 0.05) using SPSS version 21.Conclusion: Chronic arsenic exposure could be a possible cause for the increased caries experience in children in the study group.