Fluoride Levels of Urban Water in Western Azerbaijan Province in 2017
Introduction: Fluoride is one of the naturally occurring mineral elements which has an effective role in preventing dental caries and its consolidation. Fluoridation of water is a simple technique and the most effective method approved for preventing dental caries. Accordingly, this research was carried out with the aim of investigating the level of fluoride in the urban water of cities in Western Azerbaijan province in 2017. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-cross-sectional study, the level of fluoride in urban water reservoirs of 17 towns of Western Azerbaijan province was examined in different reservoirs. The information of the reservoirs was collected from water and wastewater organization of the province, where a 250-cc water sample was collected from each reservoir. The prepared samples were thenT sent to the laboratory to measure the level of fluoride. Determination of the concentration of fluoride ion in water samples was carried out using spectrophotometric method. Eventually, the data obtained from this study were examined by statistical-descriptive methods using SPSS 17. P <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The results obtained from the study indicate that the level of fluoride in the samples investigated in Shooth and Poldasht town was larger than the optimum level, while the rest of towns had a level lesser than the optimum value. Furthermore, the median of the investigated population (the median fluoride of the towns of Western Azerbaijan province) was 0.227 ppm, when based on statistical tests, it had a significant difference with the optimal fluoride value (1 ppm) (p-value<0.05). Conclusion: Considering the median of fluoride concentration in towns of Western Azerbaijan province (0.227 ppm), it can be stated that the level of fluoride in drinking water of this province is low, elucidating the addition of supplementary fluoride to the drinking water of reservoirs.