fluorosis

fluorosis
/floo roh"sis, flaw-, floh-/, n. Pathol.
1. an abnormal condition caused by excessive intake of fluorides, characterized in children by discoloration and pitting of the teeth and in adults by pathological bone changes.
2. Also called mottled enamel. Dentistry. the changes in tooth enamel symptomatic of fluorosis.
[1925-30; FLUOR- + -OSIS]

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      chronic intoxication with fluorine (usually combined with some other element to form a fluoride) that results in changes in the skeleton and ossification of tendons and ligaments. Exposure to fluoride in optimum amounts (about one part per million of fluoride to water) is claimed to be beneficial to the teeth (in the prevention of caries) and probably to bone development; fluorides ingested in very high amounts over a short period are general poisons that produce quick death. Mild chronic exposure (6–8 parts per million of water) will cause mottling of tooth enamel in children, but the bones are unaffected. In more severe chronic exposure, bone calcium is gradually replaced by fluorine; the bones become soft and crumbly and turn chalky white. Protrusions of new bone develop in abnormal places. There are few early symptoms, but late developments include stiffness, inability to move the spine, and neurologic symptoms when nerves of the spinal cord are compressed.

      Chronic exposure occurs from air pollution in certain areas, among workers in the insecticide, aluminum-mining, and phosphate-fertilizer industries, and in whole groups of people who live in areas with waters naturally high in fluorides. The latter form of exposure is not a significant cause of fluorosis in the Western Hemisphere, but in parts of India and Arabia bone affections are endemic.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Fluorosis — can refer to:* Skeletal fluorosis * Dental fluorosis …   Wikipedia

  • fluorosis — m. intox. Intoxicación crónica por flúor; provoca fragilidad ósea, rigidez muscular y parálisis. Medical Dictionary. 2011. fluorosis …   Diccionario médico

  • fluorosis — [flô rō′sis, floorō′sis] n. pl. fluoroses [flôr ōsēz΄, floor′əsēz΄] [ModL: see FLUOR(O) & OSIS] a disorder resulting from the absorption of too much fluorine, usually characterized by mottled or stained teeth …   English World dictionary

  • fluorosis — 1. A condition caused by an excessive intake of fluorides (2 or more p.p.m. in drinking water), characterized mainly by mottling, staining, or hypoplasia of the enamel of the teeth, although the skeletal bones are also affected. 2. Chronic… …   Medical dictionary

  • fluorosis — n. the effects of high fluoride intake. Dental fluorosis is characterized by mottled enamel, which is opaque and may be stained. Its incidence increases when the level of fluoride in the water supply is above 2 parts per million. The mottled… …   The new mediacal dictionary

  • fluorosis — fluo•ro•sis [[t]flʊˈroʊ sɪs, flɔ , floʊ [/t]] n. 1) pat an abnormal condition caused by excessive intake of fluorides, characterized in children by discoloration and pitting of the teeth and in adults by pathological bone changes 2) den pat Also… …   From formal English to slang

  • Fluorosis dental — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda La fluorosis dental es una anomalía de la cavidad oral, en especial de las piezas dentales originada por ingestión excesiva y prolongada de flúor[1] . En 1916 G.V. Black y F. McKay, describieron por primera vez bajo… …   Wikipedia Español

  • fluorosis — noun Etymology: New Latin Date: 1927 an abnormal condition (as mottling of the teeth) caused by fluorine or its compounds • fluorotic adjective …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • fluorosis — noun Any adverse condition due to an excess of fluoride …   Wiktionary

  • fluorosis — ► femenino PATOLOGÍA Intoxicación por flúor …   Enciclopedia Universal

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