After fluoride exposure, dental mottling is the first orally discernible sign of unwholesome effects. Mottling is when colored specks, ranging from brown to yellow to white, appear on the outer surface of teeth. This is most often caused by fluoride in the water system, more so than dentistry practices (though they are not exempt from responsibility). Contrary to fluoride’s function, this toxin can also disturb the amelogenesis (aka enamel-forming process during tooth development) of exposed teeth, which is a scary fact since that’s what fluoride is supposed to catalyze!
Now, moving right along to fluorosis. A condition of dental hard tissues, it is defined as a hypomineralization of enamel, a fancy way of saying it possesses greater surface area and greater porosity than normal enamel does. In advanced stages, dental fluorosis can lead to teeth being more susceptible to cavities, stemming from a loss of outer enamel. It's characterized by just white spots at first, as many peers and friends of mine exhibit from an overdose of fluoride as children. Unsightly white spots are truly just the tip of the iceberg though. Soon occur the progressively brown, mottled teeth that are irreparably damaged (see the lucid graphic).
That's the bonus, too: dental fluorosis is permanent. There is no way to reverse its effects since its damage permeates to the tooth's internal matrix. The harm can be hidden by abbrasion (the sanding of the tooth's top layer), but this can expose highly porous enamel and make teeth vulnerable to even further damage.So how common is this dental disease? A recent CDC estimate claims that 32% of American children currently exhibit some form of dental fluorosis. A separate 5-year physiologically comprehensive study concluded that 41% of adolescents aged 12-15 and 36% of those aged 16-19 all have developed fluorosis as well. My opinion? These numbers are way too dangerous for for the city to continue fluoridating the water system.
If fluoride is impacting simply our teeth this much, there's no telling what kind of other perils from this toxic chemical lurk under the surface of our complex bodies. (Actually, there is, and we'll uncover more on Monday). Starting with the SKELETAL IMPACT.
Citations:
Healthy Living in a Toxic World- Cynthia Fincher
Health Effects of Ingested Fluoride- Bernard Wagner
"Fluorosis on the Rise According to New US Study"- Michael Connett
"Not in My Water Supply"- Margot Roosevelt, Time Magazine
Every time I read one of your blogs, I get more and more paranoid about how I treat myself. I will definitely be keeping a closer look at what I take in!
ReplyDeleteyeahh nat, this is kinda scary.
ReplyDeletewe don't have this problem in Tennessee. The only thing we have on tap is Mountain Dew.
ReplyDelete"That's the bonus, too: dental fluorosis is permanent."
ReplyDeletegood info per usual. i had/still have some whiter areas on my teeth i was always told were "calcium deposits" ... whatever that means. i'll have to ask my dentist more about them next week.
So here we go again...I must get on my soap box for a second, well maybe longer than a second. Let us first define the word "toxic." In actuality, the word toxic is a mechanism based on duration of exposure and level of exposure. In more scientific terms, it is does dependent. I do not know if many of you know this, but a female in California a few years ago played a radio station game for some prize and the game entailed drinking as much water as you can. Well due to the fact that water is also toxic, the lady essentially drowned herself. So my point is yes, fluoride can be toxic at extremely high levels. A real problem of fluorosis would be in babies that are contantly drinking formula that is mixed with the powder and tap water. This problem is real, and me as a dental provider must warn my patients of this ill effect and educate them on ways around it.
ReplyDeleteAs for all these little white spots on all of your teeth. I would bet a good sum of money that in fact NONE of you suffer from fluorosis even in its mildest form. What those little white spots are, are in fact decalcification/hypomineralization zones in the enamel that can arise from various things, one of them being lack of cleaning your teeth adequately during orthodontic treatment. What plaque on your teeth does is demineralize the enamel. If the plaque is not removed, the bacteria which comprises the plaque will continue through to the dentin(inside) layer and create what the general public calls a cavity. Once bacteria reach the dentin, they spread very quickly and that is how we get rampant dental decay.
As for the overwhelming positive evidence for using fluoride in the dental office and in community drinking water, fluoride acts to protect teeth in multiple ways.
1. Fluoride inhibits an enzyme called enolase. This enzyme is key to the bacterial energy pathway called glycolysis. With fluoride inhibiting this enzyme, the bacteria can not form energy to survive and therefore they die.
2. Fluoride is incorporated into the matrix of enamel to form fluoroapetite instead of the normal hydroxyapetite. This enhanced matrix is much more resistant to the acid pH in our mouths. For example, drinks such as gatorade, powerade, soda, crystal light, etc. all have pH's in between 2-3. The normal pH of our body is right near 7. The pH at which enamel and dentin begins to break down(degrade) is about 5.5. Therefore, it is fluoride that steps in to protect this degradation and prevent you from getting cavities.
Lastly, about toothpaste. Toothpaste that most adults use has a very large concentration of fluoride. You can rest easy because as soon as your enamel is formed, you CAN NOT get fluorosis. For this very reason, manufacturers such as Procter and Gamble have marketed non-fluoride tooth pastes for young children. If a child were to brush their teeth and spit all of it out, there would be no problem. The problem arises when children brush and swallow some or all of their toothpaste with fluoride. This ingestion of fluoride increases systemic(blood) levels of the ion and can be deposited abnormally into the teeth causing fluorosis.
So what is the treatment of fluorosis. NO, you will not die but treatment is limited due to the fact that once the tooth is formed, no new enamel will be deposited. Thus, bleaching the teeth is ineffective and can actually highlight the white spots. Typically the treatment of choice is to crown the teeth in the esthetic zone, basically canine to canine on the maxillary arch.
ReplyDeleteAs with several controversies facing the dental profession, the science that the nay-sayers come up with would be considered "quack science" as are the websites in which they smear such a wonderfully economic and proven preventive measure. In this day and age of technology, the internet provides for a great forum to spread falsehoods and it is important to rely upon credible studies that are found on PUBMED or MEDLINE or JADA or ADA. From time to time I have to remind myself that anyone can post anything on the internet and we should all be practical skeptics of everything we read.
With the health of 300 million Americans on the line, its important that we rely upon credible independent studies and repeatable studies. So in the end, we should be aware of the consequences of fluoride but understand the risk of not consuming it. Think about this---if each child in America did not take in fluoride and got 1.4 more cavities per year, dentists would make a killing off of each child seeing as one cavity being filled can cost upwards of $100 each. You do the math...Economic theory would suggest that dentists would therefore be fighting against fluoride but the truth of the matter is that we want the best for our patients and that we are not motivated by money but by solid, repeatable, scientific and clinical evidence.
i'm becoming paranoid!
ReplyDeleteSounds to me like Myth Buster is in the dental profession his/herself!
ReplyDeleteThis particular log really got me interested. I have a friend who lived outside of good old Greenville North Carolina in the late 80s as a little kid. He most was young enough to have developing enamel during this time and drank the tap water in his home. I have noticed before distint yellow markings across his front teeth. When questioning him about what i thought were nasty coffee stains, he told me; "it was something to do with the water I drank as a little kid". Possibly fluorosis from too much fluoride in a rural drinking water supply?
Again, I can not argue with research. But i would be curious to know if there are any large-scale case studies in which negative effects of fluoride has been seen. Possibly from improper additions to the water supply.
My bones are tingling for monday!
Well Dang! How is it possible that fluorosis is permanent?! Do people have to live with yellow teeth their whole life?
ReplyDeleteGO MYTH BUSTER! you sound like my father
ReplyDeleteand that was an awesome blog post! kudos natalie, kudos!
Nat-I like that you are getting this issue out there. It's more of problem then it would seem. I wish there was something to reverse the effects of fluorosis!
ReplyDeleteThose are pretty nasty pictures natalie. Well written post! I hate cavities!
ReplyDeleteInteresting discussion, Natalie. I just finished reading this post and my co-worker happened to tell me about when she was living in the NE part of the state of NC, she had a friend who experienced severe fluorosis--exactly what you are talking about. She said the woman's teeth were mottled with bright white, almost like they were painted with correction fluid!! It was attributed to too much fluoride in the water system. She said you could even tell if someone was a native of this area by looking at their teeth!!! Personal experience with what you are talking about, GIRL! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteFlouride is seeming worse and worse, i probably won't ever drink water again, just mt. dew like andy said..
ReplyDeleteI happen to know someone that has suffered from flourosis. It is not incredibly noticeable, but I know it is there. What a crazy thing to happen.
ReplyDeleteThe teeth pictures are just freaking me out a little bit. WHAT IF THAT HAPPENS TO MY TEETH!? Never using fluoride again.
ReplyDeleteWell, I have always only heard the beneficial side of fluoride. The fact that it was cheap and easy and it protects your teeth from decay. My dentist uses it and never see's and problem with it and I am interested to see how he will react when I tell him all of this information. Especially the pictures, that's really freaky to think about.
ReplyDeleteSUCH A FABULOUS BLOG, nat!
blythe:)
dang thats scary. i have white specks! thanks for enlightening me! i never knew what they were from! i hope my teeth dont get like the last picture! ewwww!
ReplyDelete