Introduction and objective:

The Dental Fluorosis (DF) is a development defect of enamel resulting from overexposure to fluoride and can aesthetically compromise the patient. This study aims to investigate the relationship between aesthetic perception and dental fluorosis (DF) in a low-income community with high DF prevalence.

Materials and methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 171 Colombian schoolchildren aged 8 to 12 years living in low socioeconomic community (El Cedro, district of Ayapel, Córdoba, Colombia). After receiving authorization, the students were examined for DMFT and dmft indexes (WHO criteria), and for DF (TF index). The aesthetic perceptions were verified by the Child Perceptions Questionnaire About Tooth Appearance (CQATA). Data analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, the Student´s t-test, the one-way ANOVA test, and linear regression at a significance level of p ≤ 0.05.

Results:

The prevalence of DF in this sample was 84.8% (n=145). Only the presence of caries (DMFT/ deft≠ 0) had a significant impact on aesthetic perceptions. A significantly lower rate was found in girls for the report of pleasant color domain. The number of teeth affected by DF had a significant positive correlation with mean overall perception of dental health.

Conclusion:

The presence of mild DF in children with low socioeconomic status, from a population with a high prevalence of the condition, did not seem to have an impact on the report of pleasant color of teeth domain.

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