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from the something-to-sink-your-teeth-into dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Exposing teeth to excessive fluoride alters calcium signaling, mitochondrial function, and gene expression in the cells forming tooth enamel -- a novel explanation for how dental fluorosis, a condition caused by overexposure to fluoride during childhood, arises. The study, led by researchers at NYU College of Dentistry, is published in Science Signaling.
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that helps to prevent cavities by promoting mineralization and making tooth enamel more resistant to acid. It is added to drinking water around the world -- the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends a level of 0.7 parts per million -- and all toothpastes backed by the American Dental Association's Seal of Acceptance contain fluoride. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) named water fluoridation one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century for its role in reducing tooth decay.
While low levels of fluoride help strengthen and protect tooth enamel, too much fluoride can cause dental fluorosis -- a discoloration of teeth, usually with opaque white marks, lines, or mottled enamel and poor mineralization. Dental fluorosis occurs when children between birth and around nine years of age are exposed to high levels fluoride during this critical window when their teeth are forming, and can actually increase their risk of tooth decay. A survey by the CDC found that roughly 25 percent of the U.S. population examined (ages 6 to 49) show some degree of dental fluorosis.
"The benefits of fluoride for oral health considerably outweigh the risks. But given how common dental fluorosis is and how poorly understood the cellular mechanisms responsible for this disease are, it is important to study this problem," said Rodrigo Lacruz, PhD, associate professor of basic science and craniofacial biology at NYU College of Dentistry and the study's senior author.
Francisco J. Aulestia, Johnny Groeling, Guilherme H. S. Bomfim, Veronica Costiniti, Vinu Manikandan, Ariya Chaloemtoem, Axel R. Concepcion, Yi Li, Larry E. Wagner, Youssef Idaghdour, David I. Yule, Rodrigo S. Lacruz. Fluoride exposure alters Ca2 signaling and mitochondrial function in enamel cells. Science Signaling, 2020; 13 (619): eaay0086 DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.aay0086
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday February 21 2020, @05:45PM (11 children)
Yeah, well, the wife and I both have polio vaccine scars - and none of our kids have them. It's 'cause we don't love them enough, I guess.
Huh. I just realized - it's a long time since I actually LOOKED at that old scar. Hmmmm - the millenial EMT picking me up off the street would never notice it. Only five of the little dark marks are visible now, if you know where to look. The puckering between the dark spots is gone. So, it takes at least half a century for those things to fade away.
Add that to your list of useless trivialities.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 21 2020, @05:54PM (2 children)
> polio vaccine scars
Had completely forgotten about this. I'm about your age and also had a polio shot too (maybe twice even...), but can't remember where it was. Where are your scars (upper arm?)--maybe I can see some remnants in the same place if I know where to look!
Side story, in college I had a friend (same age) who was born in mainland China, then moved to Seattle at age 12. He had one withered leg, result of polio that he contracted after the vaccine was available here.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Friday February 21 2020, @06:04PM (1 child)
Left arm, high up on the upper arm, just beneath the bulge that becomes the shoulder, at the left-most spot. They wanted to get that shot into the meat, LOL! Remember, at the ages that we got those shots, there wasn't much meat there, so they took the best shot at what was available. If you wore a Navy uniform, that scar would have been about 1/2 inch above the eagle's head on your rating insignia. Probably very much the same for other services, 1/2 to 1 inch.
(Score: 3, Informative) by dry on Monday February 24 2020, @03:20AM
That's most likely a smallpox scar from when you were vaccinated. When I was a kid, polio vaccine came in a sugar cube.
Here's an article about it, https://www.healthline.com/health/smallpox-vaccine-scar [healthline.com], seems some tuberculous vaccines do similar scarring.
(Score: 4, Informative) by curunir_wolf on Friday February 21 2020, @06:07PM (3 children)
That's not from the polio vaccine, it's from the smallpox vaccine.
Smallpox was declared eradicated in 1979, so you only see the scar on people born before the mid-1970's.
I am a crackpot
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday February 21 2020, @06:19PM (2 children)
?? I'm not sure enough to argue about it, but I really thought that was the polio vaccine. Smallpox? Maybe - it's possible we got both shots at the same time, and I just assumed the polio is the one that left the scar.
Which makes me wonder about people going to boot camp these days. We got multiple batteries of shots. On one day, maybe five shots, couple days later maybe four more, and then another round with another five shots. The "A" shot was the one that went into your right butt cheek. I don't remember what it was, but if you didn't exercise yourself half to death, that shot would leave you so sore that you wanted to die the next day. A couple others tended to hurt some, but nothing like that "A" shot!
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 21 2020, @06:44PM (1 child)
Polio vaccine is not even a shot, at least not the the past. Only recently is it a shot to prevent people getting infected and you get no scar.
http://polioeradication.org/polio-today/polio-prevention/the-vaccines/opv/ [polioeradication.org]
http://polioeradication.org/polio-today/polio-prevention/the-vaccines/ipv/ [polioeradication.org]
so yes, you probably had smallpox scar.
https://www.healthline.com/health/smallpox-vaccine-scar#vs-bcg-with-photo [healthline.com]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday February 21 2020, @06:58PM
OK, I'm convinced. I searched for images, and found this one - https://i.pinimg.com/236x/d3/59/39/d35939d69819cc6e3004bd468d79500f.jpg [pinimg.com] That is nearly identical to my own scar. Smallpox vaccine.
(Score: 3, Funny) by JoeMerchant on Friday February 21 2020, @06:59PM
I picked at my polio scar until it went away, I think I was about 14.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 21 2020, @07:06PM (1 child)
What age did you get the shot? I was born in the mid-60s and I never had a scar, and I remember much later, like in the 80s, wondering why a lot of my peers had that same feature on their upper arm but I didn't.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday February 22 2020, @12:27AM
I think it was a requirement to start school. So, we all had it by age 5 or 6. In my case, that was age 5.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 23 2020, @01:34AM
Are you sure your not confusing the polio vaccine with the smallpox vaccine.