Abstract
This study was conducted to investigate the high incidence of mottled teeth among residents of an area with hot springs in the Choma District of the Southern Province of Zambia. A survey involving 128 pupils was conducted at a Basic School to collect data on pupil’s backgrounds and their main sources of drinking water between birth and age 7. A dental specialist examined the pupils’ teeth and samples of drinking water were collected from locations where the majority of the pupils lived. It was analysed for fluorides and other drinking water quality parameters. Results of the survey showed a highly significant (P < 0.001) association between pupils’ main sources of drinking water between birth and age 7 and the incidence of discoloured teeth. All (100%) pupils who drank water from hot springs before age 7 had moderate to severe fluorosis, while the majority (96.7%) of the pupils who drank water from other sources had no dental fluorosis. Fluoride concentrations ranged from 5.95 to 10.09 mg/l in water from hot springs, and from 0.03 to 0.6 mg/l in water from other sources. Fluoride levels in water from hot spring water samples exceeded the 1.5 mg/l WHO guideline value for drinking water, while those in water from other sources were significantly (P < 0.05) lower than this. We conclude that the high prevalence of mottled teeth among residents of the study area is a case of endemic dental fluorosis associated with drinking water from hot springs containing high concentrations of fluoride.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the VLIR Inter-University Cooperation for providing the research grant to conduct this work. We thank farmers in the study area, particularly Mr. Miller and Mr. Ross for allowing us access to their farms and teachers at Kachenje Basic School for their help during the course of our field work. We further acknowledge the assistance of the Choma District Health Management Board for allowing their member of staff to assist with the dental studies and for allowing us to conduct this work in their district. We are indebted to Mr. Paul Zimba for the cartographic work and to Dr. Habatwa Mweene for greatly helping to improve the clarity of the presentation of the work in this paper. Lastly, our appreciation goes to the reviewers of this paper whose suggestions further enhanced the quality of its presentation.
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Shitumbanuma, V., Tembo, F., Tembo, J.M. et al. Dental fluorosis associated with drinking water from hot springs in Choma district in southern province, Zambia. Environ Geochem Health 29, 51–58 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-006-9062-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-006-9062-0