SUMMARY: The aim of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists
between the concentration of groundwater fluoride (F) and dental caries of children
living in the Khartooran area of the Semnan Province in Iran. A total of 1,043 children,
ages 6–11, were selected for examination from seven villages of Khartooran with
essentially the same socio-economic living standards and nutritional conditions. F
levels in the regular drinking water measured by the SPADNS method ranged from
0.99 to 2.76 mg/L. The ranges for dental caries for permanent teeth (Dt) and
deciduous teeth (dt) in boys in the region were 0–0.91 and 0–0.90, respectively. For
girls, in the same villages, the ranges for Dt and dt were 0–0.81 and 0–0.84,
respectively. Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed there is a negative, inverse,
and moderately significant linear correlation between the concentration of F in the
water and dental caries of deciduous and permanent teeth of boys and girls in the
region (p<0.05).