Abstract

Dental fluorosis was evaluated by a classification system, previously shown to be sensitive, and skeletal changes evaluated by bone maturity and structure. Dental fluorosis was more severe in posterior than in anterior teeth in both jaws irrespective of fluoride concentration of the drinking water. There appeared to be no dependence between fluoride content of the water and skeletal maturity or structure, but there was a definite relationship between the degree of dental fluorosis and skeletal maturity within the high fluoride area. Fluoride concentrations in the drinking water above 3 parts/10(6) seemed to affect all mineralizing tissues under formation. The unique pattern of enamel formation and mineralization renders it the only hard tissue which permits an early diagnosis of the biological effect of even low fluoride doses on the human body.

• Related Studies :

  • Fluoride toxicosis in immature herbivorous domestic animals living in low fluoride water endemic areas of Rajasthan, India: An observational survey

    Susceptibility to fluoride toxicosis in the form of osteo-dental fluorosis was observed among 435 immature herbivorous domestic animals living in areas with less than 1.5 ppm fluoride in the drinking water. These animals included 78 buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis), 89 cattle (Bos taurus), 30 donkeys (Equus asinus), 21 horses (Equus caballus),

  • Osteo-dental fluorosis in domestic horses and donkeys in Rajasthan, India.

    Chronic fluoride (F) intoxication in the form of osteo-dental fluorosis was observed in 23 domestic equus animals, 9 to 23 years old, including 14 horses (Equus caballus), and 9 donkeys (E. asinus) living in F endemic areas of Dungarpur district, Rajasthan, India. The mean F concentration in the drinking water

  • Clinical symptoms of dental and skeletal fluorosis in Gadag and Bagalkot Districts of Karnataka.

    An investigation was undertaken in six endemic villages of Mundargi taluk of Gadag district and two of Hungund taluk of Bagalkot district to assess the clinical symptoms of both dental and skeletal fluorosis and in turn to find out the severity of the disease. A check list developed with the help of

  • 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

  • The pathogenesis of endemic fluorosis: Research progress in the last 5 years.

    Fluorine is one of the trace elements necessary for health. It has many physiological functions, and participates in normal metabolism. However, fluorine has paradoxical effects on the body. Many studies have shown that tissues and organs of humans and animals appear to suffer different degrees of damage after long-term direct

• Related FAN Content :

  • "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: 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.

  • 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.

  • Estimated "Threshold" Doses for Skeletal Fluorosis

    For over 40 years health authorities stated that in order to develop crippling skeletal fluorosis, one would need to ingest between 20 and 80 mg of fluoride per day for at least 10 or 20 years. This belief, however, which played an instrumental role in shaping current fluoride policies, is now acknowledged by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and other US health authorities to be incorrect.

  • Fluoride & Spinal Stenosis

    Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spaces in the spine that results in pressure being placed on the spinal cord and/or nerve roots. Although stenosis can develop without symptoms, it may produce numbness, tingling, pain and difficulty in walking, as well as a heavy/tired feeling in the legs. It is estimated that 250,000 to 500,000 Americans currently have symptoms of spinal stenosis. Skeletal fluorosis is one cause of stenosis.