Abstract

A survey was done of the prevalence of dental fluorosis among children aged 7-16 years and the occurrence of skeletal fluorosis among adults aged 40-60 years living in regions in Senegal where fluoride concentrations in the drinking water ranged from less than 0.1 to 7.4 mg/l. In the area where the fluoride concentration in the drinking water was 1.1 mg/l milder forms of dental fluorosis were found, the prevalence being 68.5%. In areas where fluoride concentrations exceeded 4 mg/l the prevalence of dental fluorosis reached 100%. Kyphosis was very prevalent among a community whose drinking water contained 7.4 mg/l fluoride. Radiographs of the vertebral column, hand, and wrist of 3 adults with kyphosis confirmed the diagnosis of skeletal fluorosis. High sweat loss and a high intake of water because of the hot weather may account for the finding. The present World Health Organisation guideline for the upper limit of fluoride concentration in drinking water may be unsuitable for countries with a hot, dry climate.

• Related Studies :

  • Epidemiological, clinical, and biochemical study of endemic dental and skeletal fluorosis in Punjab

    The incidence of dental fluorosis in 46,000 children in the Punjab was assessed and compared with the fluoride content of their water supplies. Ten villages were selected for more detailed studies of skeletal as well as dental fluorosis. Factors other than the fluoride content of the drinking water which were found to influence

  • 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

  • Association of dental and skeletal fluorosis with calcium intake and vitamin D concentrations in adolescents from a region endemic for fluorosis

    Objective: Patan, is a semi urban area in Gujarat, India where fluorosis is endemic (Fluoride concentration in ground water 1.96–10.85 ppm, Patel et al., 2008). Exposure to fluoride is likely to be higher in lower socio-economic class (SEC) due to lack of access to bottled water. Calcium intake and vitamin

  • A comparative study of dental fluorosis and non-skeletal manifestations of fluorosis in areas with different water fluoride concentrations in rural Kolar.

    Background: Fluorosis is an endemic disease which results due to excess exposure to high fluoride from different sources. The climatic factors and dependency on ground water add to the risk of fluorosis in Kolar. In addition to it, the epidemiological studies conducted on fluorosis in Kolar are very few. Aims: (1) To

  • Fluoride's effects on the formation of teeth and bones, and the influence of genetics.

    Fluorides are present in the environment. Excessive systemic exposure to fluorides can lead to disturbances of bone homeostasis (skeletal fluorosis) and enamel development (dental/enamel fluorosis). The severity of dental fluorosis is also dependent upon fluoride dose and the timing and duration of fluoride exposure. Fluoride's actions on bone cells predominate

• Related FAN Content :

  • Kidney Patients Are at Increased Risk of Fluoride Poisoning

    It is well established that individuals with kidney disease are susceptible to suffering bone damage and other ill effects from low levels of fluoride exposure. Kidney patients are at elevated risk because when kidneys are damaged they are unable to efficiently excrete fluoride from the body. As a result, kidney patients

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • "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.

  • Skeletal Fluorosis & Individual Variability

    One of the common fallacies in the research on skeletal fluorosis is the notion that there is a uniform level of fluoride that is safe for everyone in the population. These "safety thresholds" have been expressed in terms of (a) bone fluoride content, (b) daily dose, (c) water fluoride level, (d) urinary fluoride level, and (e) blood fluoride level. The central fallacy with each of these alleged safety thresholds, however, is that they ignore the wide range of individual susceptibility in how people respond to toxic substances, including fluoride.