Abstract
Quarter Horses drinking water artificially fluoridated at 0.9 to 1.1 ppm over long periods of time developed dental fluorosis. Even when the horses had not been exposed to artificially fluoridated water (AFW) during formation of enamel, brown discoloration occurred and progressed. Pronounced loss of tooth-supporting alveolar bone with recession of bone and gingiva was also present as more severe signs of chronic fluorosis than enamel changes alone. The scene of these events was
a lowland part of Texas just above sea level. AFW at these low concentrations can obviously induce chronic fluorosis in its own right without the support of high altitude.
With a change to low fluoride (0.1 ppm) well water, a remarkable improvement was observed in the general health of the horses in a very short time. Most notably, bothersome episodes of colic promptly ceased.
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Equine dental and skeletal fluorosis induced by well water consumption.
Two horses that consumed well water with high fluoride content exhibited clinical signs of chronic dental and skeletal fluoride toxicosis and were later euthanized and autopsied. Both horses had degenerative disease of multiple joints and multiple dental defects. Elevated fluoride concentrations were found in bone and tooth samples of both
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Studies on fluorosis in Mehsana District of North Gujarat.
A survey was conducted in eighteen fluoride endemic villages in Mehsana District of North Gujarat (India). The individuals afflicted with fluorosis were examined for apparent mottled teeth and skeletal complications. Samples of urine and blood of these individuals along with drinking water were collected and compared with samples obtained from
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Effects of fluoride toxicity on animals, plants, and soil health: a review.
Substantial multi-disciplinary efforts have been made to investigate the effects of environmental fluoride ion (F) pollution since the last century. The chronic ingestion of high doses of F may adversely affect human health by causing skeletal fluorosis, dental fluorosis, bone fractures, the formation of kidney stones, decreased birth rates, weakening
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Spatial distribution of endemic fluorosis caused by drinking water in a high-fluorine area in Ningxia, China.
Endemic fluorosis is widespread in China, especially in the arid and semi-arid areas of northwest China, where endemic fluorosis caused by consumption of drinking water high in fluorine content is very common. We analyzed data on endemic fluorosis collected in Ningxia, a typical high-fluorine area in the north of China.
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Dental and early-stage skeletal fluorosis in children induced by fluoride in brick-tea
Fluorosis from brick-tea was discovered during the last decade in western and northern parts of China. Dental fluorosis has a high prevalence among children in these brick-tea endemic areas, but skeletal fluorosis does not normally become apparent until adulthood. In July 2002 we examined 132 primary school children, age 8
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Fluoride & Osteoarthritis
While the osteoarthritic effects that occurred from fluoride exposure were once considered to be limited to those with skeletal fluorosis, recent research shows that fluoride can cause osteoarthritis in the absence of traditionally defined fluorosis. Conventional methods used for detecting skeletal fluorosis, therefore, will fail to detect the full range of people suffering from fluoride-induced osteoarthritis.
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Skeletal Fluorosis: The Misdiagnosis Problem
It is a virtual certainty that there are individuals in the general population unknowingly suffering from some form of skeletal fluorosis as a result of a doctor's failure to consider fluoride as a cause of their symptoms. Proof that this is the case can be found in the following case reports of skeletal fluorosis written by doctors in the U.S. and other western countries. As can be seen, a consistent feature of these reports is that fluorosis patients--even those with crippling skeletal fluorosis--are misdiagnosed for years by multiple teams of doctors who routinely fail to consider fluoride as a possible cause of their disease.
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"Pre-Skeletal" Fluorosis
As demonstrated by the studies below, skeletal fluorosis may produce adverse symptoms, including arthritic pains, clinical osteoarthritis, gastrointestinal disturbances, and bone fragility, before the classic bone change of fluorosis (i.e., osteosclerosis in the spine and pelvis) is detectable by x-ray. Relying on x-rays, therefore, to diagnosis skeletal fluorosis will invariably fail to protect those individuals who are suffering from the pre-skeletal phase of the disease. Moreover, some individuals with clinical skeletal fluorosis will not develop an increase in bone density, let alone osteosclerosis, of the spine. Thus, relying on unusual increases in spinal bone density will under-detect the rate of skeletal fluoride poisoning in a population.
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Industrial Fluorosis
A highly significant relationship of exposure to fluoride was established with the frequency of back and neck surgery, fractures, symptoms of musculoskeletal disease and past history of diseases of bones and joints in the absence of the typical findings of skeletal fluorosis. Monitoring exposed workers for the early manifestations of "musculoskeletal fluorosis" is recommended prior to the development of destructive and degenerative changes of the skeleton.
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Skeletal Fluorosis in India & China
In India and China, scientists have repeatedly found that skeletal fluorosis occurs in populations drinking water with just 0.7 to 1.5 ppm fluoride. Although nutritional deficiencies and hot climates make populations in India and China more susceptible to fluoride toxicity than is generally the case in western countries, this fact does not remove the relevance of the Indian and Chinese experience to the situation in fluoridating countries. This is because (a) nutritional deficiencies also exist in the western world, particularly in low-income communities, and (b) some individuals, including those with kidney disease, can be just as -- if not more -- susceptible to fluoride toxicity.
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