Molar-Incisor-Hypomineralisation impact on developmental defects of enamel prevalence in a low fluoridated area

Aim: This was to study the impact of molar-incisor-hypomineralisations on developmental defects of enamel (DDE) prevalence. Additionally, to present the prevalence of DDE and molar-incisor-hypomineralisations (MIH) in 12-year old children in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) who live in an area with low natural fluoride content in the drinking water (less than 0.1 ppm). Methods: As a part of the oral health study of 12-year-olds, information about DDE and MIH were collected from a random sample of 560 children. To study the impact of MIH on DDE, a secondary database was developed to determine if and to what extent did MIH affect epidemiological parameters of DDE. The analyses focused on differences in DDE values between the main sample and sub-sample of participants in which those diagnosed with both MIH and DDE were excluded. Research results were analysed using percentages, arithmetic mean value, standard deviation and linear regression. Results: In the main sample MIH prevalence was 12.3%. The DDE prevalence was 32.8% with the highest frequency being demarcated opacities. DDE prevalence, calculated without MIH examinees, was 21.4%. A strong positive correlation was found between MIH and DDE prevalence in different geografic locations (r=0.9, p=0.0008). Conclusions: Molar-incisor-hypomineralisation prevalence has a strong positive correlation with prevalence of developmental defects of enamel. Prevalence of DDE after excluding MIH examinees fell from 32.8% to 21.4%, which was a noticeable difference. Separate registration of these two conditions should be considered.