Dental Fluorosis: What is it?

FluorideAction.net

Dental fluorosis is an irreversible condition caused by excessive ingestion of fluoride during the tooth forming years. It is the first visible sign that a child has been overexposed to fluoride.

Fluoride causes dental fluorosis by damaging the enamel-forming cells, called ameloblasts. The damage to these cells results in a mineralization disorder of the teeth, whereby the porosity of the sub-surface enamel is increased.

While the dental profession claims that dental fluorosis is solely a 'cosmetic' effect, and not a health effect, this statement is an assumption and not a fact. Certainly, dental fluorosis represents a toxic effect on tooth cells. The question is whether tooth cells are the only cells in the body that are impacted.

As noted by former proponent of fluoridation, Dr. John Colquhoun, "Common sense should tell us that if a poison circulating in a child's body can damage the tooth-forming cells, then other harm also is likely."

As noted by Dr. Hardy Limeback, former President of the Canadian Association of Dental Research, "it is illogical to assume that tooth enamel is the only tissue affected by low daily doses of fluoride ingestion."

Over the past 50 years, the prevalence of dental fluorosis has increased quite dramatically in the United States and other fluoridated countries.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, dental fluorosis now impacts 32% of American children. (In the 1940s, dental fluorosis rates in fluoridated areas averaged 10%.)

Not only is the prevalence of fluorosis increasing, but so to is its severity. As noted by Dr. Gary Whitford:

"There is a growing body of evidence which indicates that the prevalence and, in some cases, the severity of dental fluorosis is increasing in both fluoridated and non-fluoridated regions in the U.S... This trend is undesirable for several reasons:

• It increases the risk of esthetically objectionable enamel defects
• in more severe cases, it increases the risk of harmful effects to dental function
• it places dental professionals at an increased risk of litigation
• it jeopardizes the perception of the safety and, therefore, the public acceptance of the use of fluorides.
  

According to recent estimates from the U.S. and British Governments, 2 to 12% of children living in fluoridated communities have dental fluorosis of "esthetic concern" (Griffin 2002; York Review 2000).

Dental fluorosis, of esthetic concern, is an expensive condition to treat. If left untreated, it can cause embarrassment for school-aged children, resulting in psychological stress and damaged self-esteem.

There is also mounting evidence that dental fluorosis in its more advanced stages can leave teeth more susceptible to cavities. As noted by pro-fluoridation dental researcher, Dr. Steven Levy, "With more severe forms of fluorosis, caries risk increases because of pitting and loss of the outer enamel" (Levy 2003).