Premium
Inhibitory effect of barium on human caries prevalence
Author(s) -
Zdanowicz John A.,
Featherstone John D. B.,
Espeland Mark A.,
Curzon Martin E.J.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
community dentistry and oral epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1600-0528
pISSN - 0301-5661
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0528.1987.tb00471.x
Subject(s) - medicine , dentistry , barium , barium sulphate , traditional medicine , metallurgy , materials science , radiochemistry , chemistry
The aim of this investigation was to determine if barium in drinking water, in combination with fluoride, has an effect on caries prevalence in a human population. Children, aged 12–14 yr, were selected from two towns which had a similar socioeconomic and racial balance but one had a barium concentration of 8.0–10.0 ppm in its drinking water and the other a level which was less than 0.03 ppm. The caries prevalence, as mean DMFS, was significantly lower in the high barium town (2.76 ± 0.82) than in the low barium town (5.14 ± 0.65). The difference in mottling scores between the two towns was not significant ( P = 0.44, chi‐square test). This difference in mean DMFS between the high and low barium communities could not be explained by an effect of other covariate factors.