Since the first edition of this highly-acclaimed book appeared in 1989, a considerable amount of new information has been published on the diverse effects that fluoride can produce in biological systems. The remarkable decline in dental caries that is now occurring throughout the world can be largely attributed to the use of ingested and topical forms of fluoride. Indeed, fluoride is now widely regarded as the cornerstone of modern preventive dentistry. In addition to its prophylactic qualities, fluoride is currently being investigated for its benefits in the treatment of osteoporosis, ischemia, and other major diseases; in larger doses, however, fluoride is known to cause fluorosis, and in excessive amounts can even lead to death. This newly revised edition includes data from the most recent studies in these areas and provides an up-to-date, critical discussion of fluoride metabolism and toxicity as well as environmental and physiological variables that can affect these processes. It will be of particular interest to dental students and residents, dental educators and researchers, toxicologists, pharmacologists and physiologists.

Most people associate fluoride with the practice of intentionally adding fluoride to public drinking water supplies for the prevention of tooth decay. However, fluoride can also enter public water systems from natural sources, including runoff from the weathering of fluoride-containing rocks and soils and leaching from soil into groundwater. Fluoride pollution from various industrial emissions can also contaminate water supplies. In a few areas of the United States fluoride concentrations in water are much higher than normal, mostly from natural sources. Fluoride is one of the drinking water contaminants regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because it can occur at these toxic levels. In 1986, the EPA established a maximum allowable concentration for fluoride in drinking water of 4 milligrams per liter, a guideline designed to prevent the public from being exposed to harmful levels of fluoride. Fluoride in Drinking Water reviews research on various health effects from exposure to fluoride, including studies conducted in the last 10 years.

Explore the Health Effects of Fluoride PollutionFluoride in Drinking Water: Status, Issues, and Solutions establishes the negative impacts of naturally occurring fluoride on human health and considers the depth and scope of fluoride pollution on an international scale. The book discusses current global water quality and fluoride-related issues and

This volume brings together current concepts relating to the use of fluoride in dentistry. In contributions written by expert authors, data from this large and complex field have been assembled into a clear sequence and presented in a lucid fashion. The first section deals with the sources of fluoride intake and its metabolism, in order to fully understand fluoride toxicity and the importance of monitoring intake. The second section focuses in more detail on modes of fluoride application and the mechanisms by which this ion interacts with the oral environment to cause a remarkable reduction in dental caries. The role of fluoride in the prevention of dental erosion is also elucidated. The complex mechanisms by which fluoride exerts its effects are described with clarity and the entire text is accompanied by particularly useful illustrations.As a clear up-to-date summary of current thinking in the field, this book will be essential reading for research workers and postgraduate students. Established researchers and teachers in both clinical and basic sciences will find it to be a valuable addition to their libraries, and clinicians will be able to better evaluate the current scientific evidence on the advantages as well as the hazards of fluoride in dentistry.

Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology attempts to provide concise, critical reviews of timely advances, philosophy and significant areas of accomplished or needed endeavor in the total field of xenobiotics, in any segment of the environment, as well as toxicological implications.

This volume is a comprehensive introduction to the analysis, binding, uptake, metabolism, kinetics, modeling, distribution, occurrence, toxicity and chelation of metals and fluoride in the body, with special reference to mineralized tissues. Both toxic and relatively harmless polyvalent cations and anions are considered. Included are some which are stable, and others which are radioactive. While a number are essential trace elements, others have no known metabolic role. Most chapters are concerned with the uptake of bone-seeking ions by the living skeleton, but aspects of the post-mortem uptake of metals and the process of fossilization are also considered. Highlighted are the utility of modern analytical techniques and the more important bone-seeking elements including aluminum, lead, cadmium, fluorine and the radioactive heavy metals including uranium and plutonium. This important publication is of particular value to those in the fields of biochemistry, radioactive waste, geology, physiology, dentistry, orthopedics, radiology and nuclear medicine, urology, industrial hygiene, pharmacology, anthropology, paleontology, and archeology.

In the case of water fluoridation, the chemicals used to fluoridate the water that more than 180 million people drink each day are not pharmaceutical grade, but rather hazardous waste products of the phosphate fertilizer industry; it is illegal to dump them into rivers and lakes or release them into the atmosphere. And water fluoridation is a prime example of one of the worst medical practices possible-forced medication with no control over the dose or who gets it. Perhaps most shocking of all, it is not subject to any federal regulation. At once painstakingly-documented and also highly-readable, The Case Against Fluoride brings new research to light, including links between fluoride and harm to the brain, bones, and kidneys, and argues that while there is possible value in topical applications like brushing your teeth with fluoride toothpaste, the evidence that swallowing fluoride reduces tooth decay is surprisingly weak.