Abstract

AIM: Our aim was to test the hypothesis that co-exposure to lead and fluoride alter the severity of enamel fluorosis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Wistar rats were allocated in four groups: control, and 3 groups that received water containing 100 ppm of fluoride (F), 30 ppm of lead (Pb), or 100 ppm of F and 30 ppm of Pb (F+Pb) from the beginning of gestation. Enamel analysis and F and Pb determinations in enamel, dentine, and bone were performed in 81-day-old animals. Fluorosis was quantified using a new fluorosis index based on the identification of incisor enamel defects (white bands and white islets, representing hypomineralization, and cavities) weighted according to their severity and quantity. Hypomineralization was validated histopathologically by polarizing microscopy and microradiography. Scores were given by two blinded calibrated examiners (intra and interexaminer kappa values were 0.8 and 0.86, respectively).

RESULTS: The control and the Pb groups presented normal enamel. The F+Pb group presented more severe enamel defects compared with the F group (P<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that lead exacerbates dental fluorosis in rodents, suggesting that co-exposure to lead may affect the degree of fluorosis.

• Related Studies :

  • ENAM Gene Variation in Students Exposed to Different Fluoride Concentrations.

    The ENAM gene is important in the formation of tooth enamel; an alteration can affect the lengthening of the crystals, and the thickness in enamel. The objective was to determine the presence of the single nucleotide variant (SNV) rs12640848 of the ENAM gene in students exposed to different concentrations of

  • Effects of smoking, use of aluminum utensils, and tamarind consumption on fluorosis in a fluorotic village of Andhra Pradesh, India

    A field study was undertaken to determine effects of tamarind, the use of aluminium (Al) cooking utensils, and smoking on dental and skeletal fluorosis in the randomly selected fluoride (F) endemic village of Buttlapally in the Nalgonda District, Andhra Pradesh, India, where the F level in the drinking water is

  • Coal-burning roasted corn and chili as the cause of dental fluorosis for children in southwestern China.

    To find the pathologic cause of the children's dental fluorosis in southwestern China, diet structure before the age of 6 and prevalence rate of dental fluorosis (DF) of 405 children were investigated, and the fluorine and arsenic content of several materials were determined. The prevalence rate of DF of children

  • Dental fluorosis and a polymorphism in the COL1A2 gene in Mexican children.

    Highlights Dental fluorosis is a public health problem in the communities evaluated. The rs 412777 polymorphism in the COL1A2 gene was found in Mexican children. An association between the COL1A2 gene polymorphism and dental fluorosis was found. The genetic variant evaluated represents a risk factor to develop dental fluorosis. OBJECTIVE:

  • Enamel crystals of mice susceptible or resistant to dental fluorosis: an AFM study

    Objective: This study aimed to assess the overall apatite crystals profile in the enamel matrix of mice susceptible (A/J strain) or resistant (129P3/J strain) to dental fluorosis through analyses by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Material and Methods: Samples from the enamel matrix in the early stages of secretion and maturation were obtained

• Related FAN Content :

  • 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.

  • 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

  • Dental Fluorosis Is a "Hypo-mineralization" of Enamel

    Teeth with fluorosis have an increase in porosity in the subsurface enamel ("hypomineralization"). The increased porosity of enamel found in fluorosis is a result of a fluoride-induced impairment in the clearance of proteins (amelogenins) from the developing teeth. Despite over 50 years of research, the exact mechanism by which fluoride impairs amelogin

  • Mayo Clinic: Fluoridation & Bone Disease in Renal Patients

    The available evidence suggests that some patients wtih long-term renal failure are being affected by drinking water with as little as 2 ppm fluoride. The finding of adverse effects in patients drinking water with 2 ppm of fluoride suggests that a few similar cases may be found in patients imbibing 1 ppm, especially if large volumes are consumed, or in heavy tea drinkers. The finding of adverse effects in patients drinking water with 2 ppm of fluoride suggests that a few similar cases may be found in patients imbibing 1 ppm, especially if large volumes are consumed, or in heavy tea drinkers and if fluoride is indeed the cause. It would seem prudent, therefore, to monitor the fluoride intake of patients with renal failure living in high fluoride areas.

  • Unheeded Warnings: Government Health Authorities Ignore Fluoride Risk for Kidney Patients

    Despite the well known fact that individuals with kidney disease are at much higher risk of fluoride toxicity than the general population, there has yet to be any attempt in the United States, or any other country that practices mass-scale water fluoridation to determine the prevalence of fluoride-related effects (e.g.,