Fluoridated drinking water and maturation of permanent teeth at age 12.

Dental age was evaluated in 88 children aged 12 years + 6 months in both areas of Boston with fluoridated drinking water and nonfluoridated areas surrounding Athens, Greece. Fluoridation of drinking water in the Boston areas was 1.0 ppm, a level considered 'optimal' in the USA. Girls from the fluoridated Boston area were shown in this study to have a significantly (p<0.05) delayed dental age when compared to their chronological age according to the tables of Nolla. Boys from the Boston area and boys and girls from the Athens area showed no significant difference when comparing dental age to chronological age.