Dental Fluorosis
Have You Heard of Dental Fluorosis?
Dental fluorosis is caused by ingesting too much fluoride during the years teeth are forming. The amount of fluoride recommended by the Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is too much. The 2010 National Center for Health Statistics report published this information on dental fluorosis: 1. One-quarter of people in the United States between the ages of 6 and 49 had some form of dental fluorosis. 2. Dental fluorosis was highest among adolescents aged 12-15, and higher in teenagers than adults. 3. Dental fluorosis had increased in adolescents aged 12-15 from 1986-1987 to 1999-2004 (Beltran-Agular, Barker, & Dye, 2010, p. 1).
The chart below is from My Teeth Tube. It shows the human tooth development timeline. Teeth begin forming 14 weeks in utero and continue up until a person is 18-25 years old, so there is a long period of time that ingesting fluoride can damage teeth.
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| Numbers with a "wk" by them indicate weeks in utero. |
Fluoride can change the mineralization of the hard dental tissues: enamel, dentin, and cementum (Beltran-Agular, et al., 2010, p. 1). The photo is from The Adam Health Illustrated Encyclopedia.
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| Above the gum line, the hard enamel protects the tooth. (Dugsdale & Zieve, 2011). |
This is a photo of the anatomy of a tooth. You can see where these hard dental tissues are located. Dentin forms before the enamel and cementum develops after most of the tooth formation is completed.
References
Dugdale, D. C., Zieve, D. (2011) Tooth Anatomy. A.D.A.M. Inc. Accredited by the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission. Retrieved from website: http://www.virtua.org/adam/Health%20Illustrated%20Encyclopedia/2/1121.htm
My Teeth Tube, Only Dentist. (2012). Development timeline, human teeth * Dental Images. In Home Page, Check Out Our Community. Retrieved from the Website: http://myteethtube.com/view_item.php?item=K5BK2379NWS6&type=photos&collection=18
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