Neutrosophic Statistics to Analyze Prevalence of Dental Fluorosis

Abstract

Fluorine is a mineral that has been worldwide used for treating teeth, as it is effective in preventing dental cavities. That is why fluorine has been incorporated into toothpastes, as well as in some foods. However, excessive consumption of this mineral constitutes a serious oral health problem. This paper analyzes the occurrence of fluorosis, which is the disease caused by excessive consumption of fluorine, in children belonging to El Oro Educational Unit, located in the Central Ecuadorian Sierra. The study was carried out by means of a survey applied to the children’s parents, and the direct study of the infants’ teeth. Data is statistically processed, however, during the analysis of the data some of them had indeterminacies, so we decided that the best tool to use is Neutrosophic Statistics, because this theory studies statistics techniques in situations where there is indeterminacy in the data, in the population size, or in the parameters of the hypothesis tests. Moreover, this study has an important impact on the knowledge about the oral health of the children who attend this educational unit. In addition, it is a precedent for improving oral hygiene habits in infants.

Keywords

• neutrosophic statistics
• dental fluorosis
• fluorine
• survey