Enamel mottling in a non-fluoride community in England

Abstract

In 1974--75 an assessment of mottling in incisor teeth was carried out on a random sample of 13- to 14-year-old children in Liverpool, England. The number of children examined was 463. All of these children were born and had lived in Liverpool when the fluoride content of the water supply had averaged 0.12 parts/10(6). The mouth prevalence of mottling was 42.5%. The tooth prevalence of mottling was 9.6%. There was no sex difference. The data obtained was compared with those of other authors and confirmed that a considerable proportion of mottling observed in fluoride and non-fluoride communities was caused by factors other than ingested fluoride.