Tag: Dental Fluorosis
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PSA: Dental Fluorosis
To sign the petition, click here. To learn more about dental fluorosis, click here.
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Community Fluorosis Index (CFI)
The current Community Fluorosis Index for U.S. adolescents as a whole (from both fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas) is roughly 5 times higher than the CFI health authorities predicted for fluoridated areas when fluoridation first began. It is also higher than the CFI that the NIDR found in fluoridated areas back in the 1980s. It is readily apparent, therefore, that children are ingesting far more fluoride than was the case in the 1950s, and even as recently as the 1980s.
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“Mild” Dental Fluorosis: Perceptions & Psychological Impact
The vast majority of research has found that patients, parents, and the general public alike view mild fluorosis (TF score 3) as a significant blemish of the teeth, one that is likely to embarrass the affected child to a degree that cosmetic treatment would be warranted.
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Severe Dental Fluorosis: Perception and Psychological Impact
In its severe forms, dental fluorosis causes highly disfiguring brown and black staining of the teeth, which can cause chronic embarrassment and social anxiety for the impacted child. In 1984, a panel from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) warned that severe dental fluorosis would place a child at risk of psychological problems due to the “loss […]
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Diagnostic Criteria for Dental Fluorosis: The TSIF (“Total Surface Index of Fluorosis”)
The traditional criteria (the “Dean Index“) for diagnosing dental fluorosis was developed in the first half of the 20th century by H. Trendley Dean. While the Dean Index is still widely used in surveys of fluorosis — including the CDC’s national surveys of fluorosis in the United States — dental researchers have developed more finely […]
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Diagnostic Criteria for Dental Fluorosis: The Thylstrup-Fejerskov (TF) Index
The traditional criteria (the “Dean Index“) for diagnosing dental fluorosis was developed in the first half of the 20th century by H. Trendley Dean. While the Dean Index is still widely used in surveys of fluorosis — including the CDC’s national surveys of fluorosis in the United States — dental researchers have developed more finely […]
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Racial Disparities in Dental Fluorosis
In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control published the results of a national survey of dental fluorosis conducted between 1999 and 2002. According to the CDC, black children in the United States have significantly higher rates of dental fluorosis than either white or Hispanic children. This was not the first time that black children were found to suffer higher rates of dental fluorosis. At least five other studies — dating as far back as the 1960s — have found black children in the United States are disproportionately impacted by dental fluorosis.
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Dental Fluorosis in the U.S. 1950-2004
Before the widespread use of fluoride in dentistry, dental fluorosis was rarely found in western countries. Today, with virtually every toothpaste now containing fluoride, and most U.S. water supplies containing fluoride chemicals, dental fluorosis rates have reached unprecedented levels. In the 1950s, it was estimated that only 10% of children in fluoridated areas had dental […]
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Mechanisms by Which Fluoride Causes Dental Fluorosis Remain Unknown
When it comes to how fluoride impacts human health, no tissue in the body has been studied more than the teeth. Yet, despite over 50 years of research, the mechanism by which fluoride causes dental fluorosis (a hypo-mineralization of the enamel that results in significant staining of the teeth) is not yet fully understood. Several mechanisms, […]
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Dental Fluorosis Impacts Dentin in Addition to Enamel
Dental fluorosis is a mineralization defect of tooth enamel marked by increased subsurface porosity. The enamel, however, is not the only component of teeth that is effected. As several studies have demonstrated, dental fluorosis can also impair the mineralization of dentin as well. As noted in one review: “The fact that human dentin also exhibits […]