Health effects of direct or indirect fluoride ingestion

Abstract

Fluoride is a ubiquitous chemical element in water and foodstuffs. There is no consensus about the essentiality of fluoride. There are many countries where population drinks artificially or naturally fluoridated water. The other sources of fluoride are tea, some mineral waters, fluoridated milk, fishes, fluoridated salt, fluoridated dental products, vegetables arising from contaminated soils, and air pollution due to the coal burning. Biological alterations can be associated to contemporary biomarkers, recent biomarkers, or historic biomarkers. The main negative and visible effects of fluoride ingestion are dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis. The caries prevention is the only positive effect of fluoride ingestion. Fluoride ingestion can have also toxic effects on a lot of soft tissues. A recent observation is the neurotoxicity of fluoride and its effects on the intelligence quotient of children. Fluoride also exhibits toxicity against terrestrial and aquatic animals, plants, and microorganisms. The presence of coexisting substances can modify the fluoride toxicity. A lot of compounds like arsenic, calcium, magnesium, aluminum, lead, and selenium have been investigated for their synergetic or antagonist effects.