Abstract

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 3.6 ppm. In the survey, information on the above factors was collected for all persons in the village of 46 households (HHs) with a total population of 144 adults and 83 children. The survey revealed that persons who consume tamarind daily had significantly less (p<0.01) dental mottling, bamboo spine, and genu varum/genu valgum than occasional tamarind users. The incidence of skeletal and dental fluorosis was significantly higher among smokers than nonsmokers. About 95% of the HHs used Al utensils, which aggravated the fluorosis problem in the village. When the 3.6-ppm F water was stored undisturbed for 8 and 24 hr in an Al vessel, the F level decreased to 2.58 ppm and 2.36 ppm, respectively; boiling the water for 40 min in an Al utensil decreased the F level to 2.25 ppm. In conclusion, daily consumption of tamarind correlated with less dental and skeletal fluorosis, whereas smoking and the use of Al utensils for cooking appeared to enhance the effects of fluoride toxicity.

• Related Studies :

  • 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

  • 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

  • Association of Dietary Calcium Intake with Dental, Skeletal and Non-Skeletal Fluorosis among Women in the Ethiopian Rift Valley.

    Fluorosis is a major public health problem in the Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Low calcium (Ca) intake may worsen fluorosis symptoms. We assessed the occurrence of fluorosis symptoms among women living in high-fluoride (F) communities in South Ethiopia and their associations with dietary Ca intake. Women (n = 270) from

  • Fluoride Sources, Toxicity and Fluorosis Management Techniques - A Brief Review.

    Highlights Overexposure to fluoride via drinking water causes several health effects including fluorosis Endemic fluorosis is still persisted in several countries even with advancement in research Most of fluorosis management techniques suggested in the past have come with their own drawbacks Defluoridation techniques based on aluminium materials pose serious

  • Unsuitability of World Health Organisation guidelines for fluoride concentrations in drinking water in Senega

    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

• 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.

  • Nutrient Deficiencies Enhance Fluoride Toxicity

    It has been known since the 1930s that poor nutrition enhances the toxicity of fluoride. As discussed below, nutrient deficiencies have been specifically linked to increased susceptibility to fluoride-induced tooth damage (dental fluorosis), bone damage (osteomalacia), neurotoxicity (reduced intelligence), and mutagenicity. The nutrients of primary importance appear to be calcium,

  • "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.

  • Fluoridation, Dialysis & Osteomalacia

    In the 1960s and 1970s, doctors discovered that patients receiving kidney dialysis were accumulating very high levels of fluoride in their bones and blood, and that this exposure was associated with severe forms of osteomalacia, a bone-softening disease that leads to weak bones and often excruciating bone pain. Based on