Karnataka home to 81% of schoolkids with dental fluorosis

BENGALURU: Nearly 4 lakh children in Karnataka’s schools suffer from dental fluorosis , reveals the recently released National Health Profile 2019 . That’s 81% of the total number of schoolkids affected in the country (4,92,658).


Throwing light on the state’s fluorosis burden, the profile quotes from data compiled by the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Fluorosis.

The water we use normally contains 1 ppm (parts per million) of fluoride. When the ratio goes up, it becomes rich in fluoride and leads to the condition, which manifests as dental or skeletal fluorosis.

In dental fluorosis, teeth become dull and yellowish, and white spots appear on their surface. Gradually, these spots turn into brown streaks. As the condition worsens, teeth become perforated and the enamel chips off over the years.

Water in districts like Kolar, Dharwad, Haveri, Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Gadag and Ballari has high flouride content. “Though the state has a water treatment policy, not much is being done to implement it. Defluoridation is not being done in the worstaffected areas like Chitradurga. After this data, the government should take the issue seriously,” said Dr Raj Kumar S Alle, president, Karnataka State Dental Council.

He added the council will send a recommendation to the government to set up defluoridation plants in the regions which are affected.

Karnataka also has the highest number of suspected skeletal fluorosis cases in India — nearly 2 lakh of the total 2.6 lakh. Skeletal fluorosis is a crippling disease resulting from deposition of fluoride in hard and soft tissues.

Dr T Prabhakar, director, health and family welfare department, said reverse osmosis plants for water treatment in the affected areas are supposed to be installed and maintained by the rural development and panchayat raj department. “There are issues pertaining to the functioning of RO plants. Groundwater contamination due to fluoride is a major concern in some districts. It will be looked into,” he said.