Fluoride Action Network

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Abstract

Endemic fluorosis refers to that individuals living in a region characterized by high levels of fluorine in the drinking water; food and/or air are thereby exposed to excessive amounts of this ion that resulted in general chronic accumulated fluorosis among many of them. In addition to its typical dental and skeletal symptoms, fluorosis extensively damages the whole body, including the brain, liver, kidney, heart, thyroid, etc. The three types of endemic fluorosis resulting from drinking water, coal-burning, or drinking tea types have been identified in China that affect 130 million people, and for these years, this situation has been addressed by key national programs for research, prevention, and treatment supported by the Chinese government. Through the admirable efforts of scientific researchers and medical professionals, the causes, epidemiology, pathological impairment, and pathogenesis of endemic fluorosis are now basically understood. Importantly, the strategy of prevention and control to the disease has been carried out successfully. Thus, endemic fluorosis has been effectively controlled in China, and the prevalence of both dental and skeletal fluorosis has been significantly reduced.

Original abstract online at https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-2529-8_3

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