First Visible Sign of Fluoride Poisoning

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.

 

Numbers with a "wk" by them indicate weeks in utero. 

(My Teeth Tube, 2012)

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.

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

Beltran-Agular ED, Barker L, Dye BA. (2010). Prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis in the United States, 1999-2004. NCHS data brief, no 53. 2010 Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.

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

Photos of Dental Fluorosis

"Dental fluorosis in teeth is a reflection of what's happening in our bones and is the first visible sign of fluoride poisoning" (Calquhoun, 1997).

After a tooth erupts there is a wide range of visible signs on the enamel caused by dental fluorosis. The markings range from white lacy spots, opaque areas, and pitting; to severe yellow and dark brown stains (Beltran-Agular, et al., 2010, p.1) You will see photos below showing different examples of dental fluorosis.

Dr. John Colquhoun practiced dentistry in Auckland, New Zealand and eventually became the Principal Dental Officer there. After conversations about fluoride with other countries and lots of his own research, he cold no longer deny that he did not support fluoridation. Dr. Colquhoun's story is interesting, and you can read the whole article he wrote for Perspectives in Biology and Medicine (1997) Why I Changed My Mind About Water Fluoridation.

The information below is from the the fluoridation.com website created in Calgary, Alberta Canada and was written by Dr. John Colquhoun. The photos are of dental patients from Auckland, New Zealand. 

"Dental fluorosis in teeth is a reflection of what's happening in our bones and is the first visible sign of fluoride poisoning" (Calquhoun, 1997).

Mild Dental Fluorosis
Elke (2012) Fluorosis

Increased erosion and thinning is evident even in mild dental fluorosis because the structural integrity of the enamel has been compromised. Small pits are visible in the photo to the left because the enamel has literally fallen off in places.                    

Caused by Daily Recommended Dosage of Fluoride
Elke (2012) Fluorosis

 
The Public Health Authority's recommended daily fluoride dose in New Zealand was responsible for the fluorosis in this photo to the right.  Dentists made no effort to determine if their patients had other fluoride intake in formula, juices, toothpaste, naturally in water, etc. before supplements were prescribed.

 

8-9 Year Old Child With Dental Fluorosis
Elke (2012) Fluorosis 

Child From Fluoridated Auckland, New Zealand
Elke (2012) Fluorosis  

   
















The photos above are examples of dental fluorosis in 8-9 year old children. These children grew up in fluoridated Auckland, New Zealand. Dr. John Colquhoun said, "It came as a shock to me when I discovered that in my own fluoridated city some children had teeth like those [in the photos above]. This kind of mottling answered the description of dental fluorosis. . . Some of the children with these teeth had used fluoride toothpaste and swallowed much of it. But I could not find children with this kind of fluorosis in the nonfluoridated parts of my Health District, except in children who had been given fluoride tablets at the recommended dose of that time." 
 


My oldest son had dental fluorosis when he was in his late teens. I didn’t know this is what he had until I did research on the harmful effects of fluoride. He had only taken the recommended amount of prescription fluoride. His two top front teeth were so opaque you could almost see through these incisors. Our dentist asked my son if he drank a lot of soda. Answer was no. Next question, “Do you suck on lemons or limes?” Answer was no. (I guess some people suck on lemons and, or limes.) Didn’t our dentist know too much fluoride could cause problems with the mineralization of the hard dental tissues? Or did he decide not to tell us? I wonder now. My son had his teeth crowned.

References

Beltran-Agular ED, Barker L, Dye BA. (2010). Prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis in the United States, 1999-2004. NCHS data brief, no 53. 2010 Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.

Colquhoun, J. (1997). Why I Changed My Mind About Water Fluoridation. Perspectives In Biology and Medicine, 41, 1. Retrieved from Website: http://fluoridation.com/colquhoun.htm

Elke. (2012). Dental fluorosis photos - graphic examples of fluoride poisoning and over-dose. Fluoridation.com/fluorosis, Calgary, Alberta Canada, Calgary Real Estate, Selling Calgary Group. Retrieved from the Website: http://www.fluoridation.com/fluorosis.htm

 

Elke. (2012). Fluoride: Protected Pollutant or Panacea? Fluoridation.com, Calgary, Alberta Canada, Calgary Real Estate, Selling Calgary Group. Retrieved from the Website: http://www.fluoridation.com/