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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: 3, Interesting) by Booga1 on Saturday February 22 2020, @10:39AM
Around here, water well testing laws were recently changed. Supposedly all the tests required, environmental reviews, and all that have raised the cost of just the testing to over $20,000. Even after all that money, you could discover you can't drill a well. People who bought land in rural areas complained it made their plots of lands worthless since that would mean they don't even know if they can use the land any more.
Unfortunately, it looks like these tests are now truly necessary because of what we've found out about the local air force bases. They have been using perfluorinated fire retardants [militarytimes.com] that have polluted water sources around them. Some water with these chemicals are miles away from the bases because they've been doing fire fighting drills there for so long and some drills were done in remote areas.