This Publication Is Searchable The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy Section 1. Nutritional Disorders Chapter 4. Bones and teeth contain most of the body's fluorine. Saltwater fish and tea are rich sources, but the main source is drinking water. Fluoridation of water that contains less than the ideal level of 1 ppm significantly reduces the incidence of dental caries.
Fluorosis is most evident in permanent teeth that develop during high fluorine intake.
Deciduous teeth are affected only when intake is very high. Severe fluorosis weakens the enamel, pitting its surface. Bony changes, characterized by osteosclerosis, exostoses of the spine, and genu valgum, usually are seen only after prolonged high intake of fluorine in adults. All rights reserved.