International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | June 2017 | Vol 4 | Issue 6 Page 2011 International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health Keshan A et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2017 Jun;4(6):2011-2016 http://www.ijcmph.com pISSN 2394-6032 | eISSN 2394-6040 Original Research Article Oral health status of school children living in area with high environmental arsenic concentrations: a cross-sectional study Anisha Keshan*, Manju R., Amitha M. Hegde INTRODUCTION Arsenic is a rare crystal element that naturally occurs in all environmental media- earth crusts, sediments, soil, water, air and living organisms. 1 Groundwater contaminated with arsenic has become a major public health concern worldwide affecting more than 150 million in 70 different countries including Mexico, USA, Taiwan, Mongolia, India, Chile, and Bangladesh. 2 In India, groundwater contamination of arsenic was first reported in four districts of West-Bengal in the year 1983. Since then, unacceptable levels of dissolved arsenic in groundwater has been reported in many regions. 3 In Karnataka, the earliest places with groundwater Arsenic contamination were identified in the villages of Yadgir district in 2008. Since then, UNICEF and Government of Karnataka have discovered several villages with groundwater Arsenic levels exceeding 10 μg/L (World Health Organization guideline value). 4 There is a naturally occurring belt of metamorphic rock called the Hutti-Maski schist belt in North Karnataka that is rich in minerals like arseno pyrite. This belt has three active gold mines which also contribute to Arsenic contamination of the ground water. Arsenic is introduced into soil and ABSTRACT Background: Chronic arsenic exposure, especially via the consumption of contaminated ground water has far reaching consequences on human health. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the effect of arsenic on oral health status of children. Methods: 100 children selected from Sanduru, Bellary district, North Karnataka (ground water is not contaminated with arsenic) were categorized as control group and 100 children of age 10 to 14 years from Hutti, Raichur district, North Karnataka (ground water contaminated with arsenic) were categorized as the study group. Water samples were analysed for arsenic and fluoride levels. Chronic arsenic exposure in children was determined by measuring the arsenic levels in their hair and nail samples. Enamel defects, oral mucosal lesions and tooth eruption timing were recorded in both the groups using the modified WHO oral health assessment form, 2013. Results: There was a significant increase in the arsenic content in the hair and nail samples of children in study group. Prevalence of enamel defects were significantly higher and a marked delay in eruption of permanent was seen among the study population. Conclusions: Chronic arsenic exposure could be a possible cause for the enamel defects and the eruption delay seen in children residing in Hutti, Raichur district, North Karnataka. Keywords: Arsenic, Oral health status, Enamel defects, Oral lesions, Eruption timing Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, A. B. Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, NITTE University, Mangalore, Karnataka, India Received: 05 April 2017 Revised: 28 April 2017 Accepted: 02 May 2017 *Correspondence: Dr. Anisha Keshan, E-mail: anishakeshan@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20172167