Fluorosis in the Skeleton

Skeletal Fluorosis

Dental fluorosis is the first visible sign of fluoride poisoning.  It is not a chronic, painful, debilitating disease, but skeletal fluorosis can be.  If a person has dental fluorosis, they may have it in their bones as well.  It is possible to get fluoride poisoning even if a person has not taken supplements or been drinking water from a public water system where fluoride has been added. 

I  learned about other causes of skeletal fluorosis on Wikipedia.  They include:  1. Inhalation of fluoride dusts/fumes by industry workers.  2. Burning coal as an indoor fuel source, a common practice in China.  3. Drinking water with naturally occurring fluoride.  4. Consumption of fluoride from the drinking of tea, particularly a post-fermented tea called brick tea, also a common practice in China.  5. Fluoride-laden water from deep bore wells, which is common in India.  More than half of the ground water sources in India have a high fluoride content.  6. People in Tibet drink a poor-quality pu-erh tea that causes fluorosis.

Volcanic activity is also a cause fluorosis.  The eruption of a volcano in Iceland, Hekla, in 1693 led to fatalities of both people and livestock from fluorosis and sulfur dioxide gases.  It is estimated that 25% of the Icelandic population, and 50–80% of the livestock, were killed after the 1783 eruption of another volcano in Iceland, Laki, under similar circumstances.

Case Report of Skeletal Fluorosis

In 2007, four medical doctors from India, R. Gupta, A. Kumar, S. Bandhu, and S. Gupta wrote an article "Skeletal Fluorosis Mimicking Seronegative Arthritis" in the Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology.  The doctors from India give details of a case report of a 35-year-old woman with the following symptoms:  1. Joint pain in the lower back, both heels, and one knee  2. Increased frequency of stools with pain in the abdomen  3. Brownish stains on teeth  4. Tenderness in the lumbar area of the spine restricting movement.  The patient had been taking anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis and had not felt relief, so the doctors performed tests to get more information.  Two important facts led the doctors to suspect the patient had fluorosis:  1. Increased bone density with calcification (hardening caused by calcium) of ligaments and tendons in the pelvis  2. Her place of residence being New Delhi where the disease is common (p. 154).

The doctors tested the patient's blood and urine for fluoride levels, and took samples of the drinking water coming from a hand pump in her home.  All of the tests showed elevated fluoride levels, which led to a diagnosis of fluorosis.  Skeletal fluorosis is defined as a metabolic bone disease caused by ingesting too much fluoride in either water or food.  New Delhi is an area where fluoride occurs naturally and is not added to drinking water (pp. 154-155). The importance of the diagnosis was made clear when the doctors asserted: "The patient in our report presented with symptoms like those of enteropathic [disease of the intestinal tract] arthritis and the diagnosis of fluorosis could have been missed if attention had not been given to the increased density in the pelvic bones and ligamentous calcification" (p. 155).

Both India and China have documented cases of skeletal fluorosis in places where the amount of fluoride in the water was over 1 ppm, but it has also been found in cities where the amount was as low as 0.7 ppm. (ppm means parts per million, or milligrams per liter. This measurement is the mass of a chemical per unit volume of water.) Experience has taught these doctors to advise all physicians to thoroughly investigate possible cases of fluorosis. They declared, ". . . fluorosis is a common mimic of seronegative arthritis . . . " (p. 155).  

These are x-rays of the patient described above from New Delhi, India.

(A) X-ray of the pelvis revealed increased bone density along with calcification of ligaments and tendon (arrows). 

(B) X- ray of the ankle revealed calcified Achilles' tendon (arrow) (p. 155).

These photos show how skeletal fluorosis can deform the body.

Bones Become So Soft They Will Not Support The Body
Agenda Global 21 (2012)

Both India and China have documented cases of skeletal fluorosis in places where the amount of fluoride in the water was over 1 ppm, but it has also been found in cities where the amount was as low as 0.7 ppm.  (ppm means parts per million, or milligrams per liter.  This measurement is the mass of a chemical per unit volume of water) (p. 155).

Fluoride has caused the bone structure to change.
Memory Shock (2011)

The photo to the right is an x-ray of a child with skeletal fluorosis.  Fluoride substitutes for calcium in bones causing them to become soft.  The bones become so soft that the shape easily deforms as a child grows (Memory Shock, 2011).

References

Agenda Global 21. (2012). Publicado em Mitos e Fraudes | Tags Corrupção, Fraudes, Mentiras, Saúde Deixar um comentário. Retrieved from Website: http://agendaglobal21.wordpress.com/category/mitos-e-fraudes/

Gupta R, Kumar A, Bandhu S, Gupta S. (2007). Skeletal fluorosis mimicking seronegative arthritis. Scandinavian Journal Of Rheumatology [serial online], 36(2):154-155.

MemoryShock. (2011). JT Round 3 - Rising Against vs westcoast - Happy People? A Member of AboveTopSecret.com. Retrieved from Website: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread660579/pg1#pid10866661 

Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. (2012). Skeletal Fluorosis. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved from Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeletal_fluorosis

Skeletal Fluorosis Phases

Phases of Skeletal Fluorosis:  Normal Bone, Preclinical Phase, Clinical Phase I, Clinical Phase II, Phase III Crippling Fluorosis.

Bette Hileman believes cases of Clinical Phase I and Clinical Phase II skeletal fluorosis are often misdiagnosed as arthritis in the United States.

Bette Hileman is an independent writer and photographer who wrote articles about the environment and health for Chemical & Engineering News, a weekly magazine published by the American Chemical Society, for 27 years.  In 1988 she wrote “Fluoridation of Water:  Questions about health risks and benefits remain after more than 40 years.”  She was surprised to learn that skeletal fluorosis had been studied very little in the United States.  She thinks there are many people in the U.S. who have early stages of the disease, before symptoms would cause enough suffering to see a doctor for treatment.  Ms. Hileman concludes, “Because some of the clinical symptoms mimic arthritis, the first two clinical phases of skeletal fluorosis could be easily misdiagnosed [as arthritis]...” (p. 33).


 Skeletal Fluorosis Phases (Wikipedia (2012)

Bone ash fluoride concentrations are measured when a bone sample is taken from a patient. 

Osteosclerotic phase	Ash concentration (mgF/kg)	Symptoms and signs
Normal Bone	500 to 1,000	Normal
Preclinical Phase	3,500 to 5,500	Asymptomatic; slight radiographically-detectable increases in bone mass
Clinical Phase I	6,000 to 7,000	Sporadic pain; stiffness of joints; osteosclerosis of pelvis and vertebral spine
Clinical Phase II	7,500 to 9,000	Chronic joint pain; arthritic symptoms; slight calcification of ligaments' increased osteosclerosis and cancellous bones; with/without osteoporosis of long bones
Phase III: Crippling Fluorosis	8,400	Limitation of joint movement; calcification of ligaments of neck vertebral column; crippling deformities of the spine and major joints; muscle wasting; neurological defects/compression of spinal cord

Clinical Phase I and Clinical Phase II are often misdiagnosed as arthritis. 

Epidemiology

Skeletal fluorosis is the most common, severe, and widespread in China and India. The World Health Organization recently estimated that 2.7 million people in China have the crippling form of skeletal fluorosis. In India 20 states have been identified as endemic (constantly occurring) fluorosis areas, causing 60 million people to be at risk of developing the disease. There are 6 million people disabled which can predict about 600,000 of these patients developing a neurological disorder as a consequence. UNICEF estimates that fluorosis is endemic in at least 25 countries across the globe. The total number of people affected is not known for sure, but a conservative estimate would be tens of millions.

Some doctors are aware of skeletal fluorosis, but the early stages are difficult to diagnose. It would be advisable for doctors worldwide to become familiar with this disease and monitor fluoride levels in patients having been diagnosed with arthritis. Skeletal fluorosis is often misdiagnosed as arthritis (Wikipedia, 2012).

 

Video: China's Battle With Crippling Waters

The video below was filmed by David Kennedy, DDS, his wife, and crew. This biography of Dr. Kennedy is taken directly from the website David Kennedy, DDS, Biography.

"About the Author
DAVID C. KENNEDY, DDS

Background:
Dr. Kennedy is the Past President of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology. His BA is in Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology from the University of Kansas (1967) and his Doctorate of Dental Surgery is from the University of Missouri (1971).

He is a world lecturer to the dental profession on the safety of dental materials in the human body. His lectures include (among others) addresses to the World Health Organization, the American Dental Society of Europe, the German BGD, and Brazil Rio Eco-Odonto.

More recently, in 1996 he was a presenter at the International Society for Fluoride Research XXI Conference on fluoride (Budapest), and in 1997 was involved in the Canadian Dental Association conference (Toronto) on the use of fluoride drops and tablets.

Dentistry:
Dr. Kennedy keeps in direct touch with patients by continuing a part-time dental practice" (Cornwell, 2012).

This video is exceptionally excellent. It is 29 minutes long, but if you still have some doubts that fluoride is POISONOUS watch the whole thing! :) Watch the reaction of the children when they are having their photos taken and being filmed. They are so cute!

This video was also humbling and upsetting to me. You will see real people who are dealing with the pain of skeletal fluorosis, some being crippled into poverty.

At the end of the video Dr. David Kennedy stated, "We've learned once and for all this is not a communist plot.  The largest communist country in the world has literally hundreds of doctors and scientist trying desperately to lower their people's fluoride intake.  In the United States today, the National Academy of Sciences has established an upper tolerable intake that is 2 and 1/2 times higher than you saw crippled the parents and ruined the children's teeth.  Fluoride is not a beneficial element.  It is a hazardous waste by-product of the nuclear and phosphate fertilizer industries" (Fluoride Action Network & The International Academy of Oral Medicine Toxicology, 1999).

References

Cornwell, T. (2012) About the Author: David C. Kennedy, DDS. Oral Media Dental Self Sufficiency. Retrieved from Website: http://mizar5.com/kennedy.htm

Fluoride Action Network and the International Academy of Oral Medicine Toxicology. (1999) China’s Battle With Crippling Waters. Video Retrieved from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MLIfghWc38. 

Hileman B. (1988). Fluoridation of water: Questions about health risks and benefits remain after more than 40 years. Chemical and Engineering News, 8/1 26-42. Retrieved from Web site: http://www.fluoridealert.org/hileman-print.htm

Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. (2012). Skeletal Fluorosis. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved from Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeletal_fluorosishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeletal_fluorosis

 

Fluoride is the Protected Poison

                  

                                          "Fluoride Science is Corporate Science

                                               Fluoride Science is DDT Science

                                                  It's Asbestos Science

                                                     It's Tobacco Science

                                                        It's a racket!"

                                                             Quote by Christopher Bryson

 The Fluoride Deception
An Interview with Christopher Bryson 

Christopher Bryson is an award winning investigative journalist and a former producer for The BBC. In July of 2004 the book he had been researching for 10 years was published, The Fluoride Deception. In May of 2004, Christopher Bryson did an interview with a representative of the Fluoride Action Network about his book. He was asked to introduce people to the individuals and institutions that played a role in shaping the public policies around the toxicity of fluoride, and around the safety of fluoride being added to public water systems.

This is a fascinating and informative video. It is 28 minutes (and 34 seconds I think). You may be surprised at the history of fluoride and why it has ended up in our drinking water.

 

   

There is no reason to be adding fluoride to public water systems or giving children fluoride supplements. Fluoride does not help prevent tooth decay, and it is poisonous.

We have seen evidence showing drinking water containing fluoride can cause damage to tooth enamel in dental fluorosis, bones in skeletal fluorosis, and cause a malignant tumor in a bone with osteosarcoma. We have learned India and China have reported cases of skeletal fluorosis in cities where the amount of fluoride in drinking water is as low as 0.7 ppm. The recommended amount of fluoride added to public waters systems in the United States has been 0.7 to 1.2 ppm, not to exceed 1.4 ppm, since 1962. In 2011 the recommended amount was changed to 0.7 ppm (CDC website, 2011).

 Below are strong, deliberate statements against fluoride. They are made by the top medical authorities in our nation - based on the latest medical research (Citizens for Safe Drinking Water, 2012).

In June of 1999, the Majority Chairman of the Environmental Resources Committee, Pennsylvania House of Representatives stated ".. there is no solid scientific or medical evidence to show that fluoridation is of any beneficial help to public health, safety or welfare."



 "This record is barren of any credible and reputable scientific epidemiological studies and/or analysis of statistical data which would support the Illinois Legislatures determination that fluoridation of the water supplies is both a safe and effective means of promoting public health." - Illinois Judge Ronald Niemann (presided over litigation involving fluoridation)



  "The evidence against the safety of this public health policy keeps mounting; it is too compelling to ignore." - Dr. Phyllis Mullenix, Children's Hospital, Boston



 "The plain fact that fluorine is an insidious poison harmful, toxic and cumulative in its effects, even when ingested in minimal amounts, will remain unchanged no matter how many times it will be repeated in print that fluoridation of the water supply is 'safe.'" Dr. Ludgwig Grosse, Chief of Cancer Research, U.S. Veterans Administration.



  "I am appalled at the prospect of using water as a vehicle for drugs. Fluoride is a corrosive poison that will produce serious effects on a long range basis. Any attempt to use water this way is deplorable." - Dr. Charles Gordon Heyd, Past President of the American Medical Association.



"Based on data from the National Academy of Sciences, current levels of fluoride exposure in drinking water may cause arthritis in a substantial portion of the population long before they reach old age" -Dr. Robert Carton, former EPA Scientist.



"Fluorides are general protoplasmic poisons, probably because of their capacity to modify the metabolism of cells by changing the permeability of the cell membrane and by inhibiting certain enzyme systems." Journal of the American Medical Association, Sept 18, 1943



 "Fluoride has been shown to adversely effect the central nervous system, causing behavioral changes, increased hip fractures and reproduction problems." Natick Report Research Team
[Research Microbiologist, U.S. Army, Dr. B. J. Gallo, Environmental Chemist, J. Kupperschmidt Apollo Program Project Scientist, Dr. N.R. Mancuso, U.S. Army Natick Research Labs, A. Murray, Molecular Biologist, Dr. Strauss]

"..fluoride damages bone even at levels added to public drinking water" American Journal of Epidemiology, October 1999

 "Since 1990, five major epidemiological studies from three countries-the United States, United Kingdom and France-- showing a higher rate of hip fractures in fluoridated regions.." Australian & New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 1997 vol. 21 no. 24

"fluoride exposure, at levels that are experienced by a significant proportion of the population whose drinking water is fluoridated, may have adverse impacts on the developing brain." Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility, May 2000

We need to stop protecting fluoride.  
It does not help prevent tooth decay.  It is a poison.

There are many ways you can help change fluoride policy.  Go to Fluoride Action Network and they will tell you how to, "Join the fight to get our water clean."

References

Bryson, C., (2004) The Fluoride Deception. Grass Roots and Global Video, A Project of American Environmental Health Studies Project, In conjunction with the Fluoride Action Network. Retrieved from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmuNorVrKpo

Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). Community Water Fluoridation: Questions and Answers. How does fluoride work to prevent tooth decay? Division of Oral Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Retrieved from the Website: http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/fact_sheets/cwf_qa.htm#3

Citizens for Safe Drinking Water. (2012). Notable Quotes. NoFluoride.com. Retrieved from the Website: http://www.nofluoride.com/quotes.cfm