Introduction and objective: The aim of the study is to evaluate the mineralization tooth tissues in the inhabitants of Melniki village Szackie, Lake District, Ukraine, with regard to silver content and chosen macro-elements in the soil, tap water, and the water in Pisoczno Lake located in the vicinity of village.
Material and methods: The macro-elements, silver ions contained in the lake, tap water and soil were examined. 125 people aged 12-73, indigenous inhabitants of Melniki village, were qualified for dental examinations. The research took into account the distance between the place of residence and Pisoczno Lake as a source of silver ions, dividing the examined patients into 2 groups: A) living at a distance less than 2,500 m from the lake, and B) living at a distance more than 2.500 m from the lake.
Results: In area A, significantly higher contents of phosphorus and potassium were detected, while in the soil of area B there was more Ca and Mg with 3 times higher number of Mg ions. A high concentration of Ag ions was observed in both Pisoczno Lake and tap water. The severity of caries expressed by D3MFT number was 4.18 in the group aged 12-16 living in area A, and 4.24 for the inhabitants of area B. The mean value of D3MFT for the group aged 32- 45 living in area A equalled 21.58, while for area B it was 21.19. The severity of caries expressed by the mean D3MFT value in the examined group of 46-73-year-olds was 24.60 for area A, and 23.80 for area B. The observed differences were not statistically significant.
Conclusions: The high value of D3MFT recorded in the inhabitants of Melniki village indicates the poor condition of mineralized tooth tissues. The fact that the contents of macro-elements in the soil and drinking water increased, together with the distance from the Pisoczno Lake shoreline, did not affect the oral health of the indigenous inhabitants. No impact of silver ions contained in the lake and tap water on the condition of mineralized tooth tissue was detected in the examined group of inhabitants of Szackie Lake District.
Keywords: D3MFT; macro-elements; mineralized tooth tissues; rural inhabitants.