PFPC Fluoride Education Project

REFERENCE SET: FLUOROSIS IN THE BLACK POPULATION

©2004 PFPC

If fluorides indeed function as anti-thyroid agents, the effects of fluoride, such as 'dental fluorosis' and thyroid dysfunction, should be more observable in Black children than in white children. This is because Black individuals generally have a considerably lower 'normal thyroid status,' making the effects more pronounced in the Black population (see: Long et al., 1985; Schectman et al., 1991, etc.).

This is indeed the case.

In 1962 Russel reported on the progress in Grand Rapids, after 16 years of fluoridation. There was fluorosis in 19.3% of white children, and 40.2 percent of black children.

In 1949, Hurme had also observed more enamel opacities in the upper incisors of black children.

Of course, this has been observed many more times since (Butler, 1985; Duncan et al, 1988; Silberman et al, 1991; Kumar 1999; etc.)

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REFERENCES:

Butler WJ, Segreto V, Collins E - "Prevalence of dental mottling in school-aged lifetime residents of 16 Texas communities" Am J Public Health 75(12):1408-12 (1985)

"White and Spanish-surname children had about the same prevalence of mottling while Blacks had a higher prevalence...."

Duncan WK, Silberman SL, Trubman A - "Labial hypoplasia of primary canines in black Head Start children" ASDC J Dent Child 55(6):423-6 (1988)

Hurme VO -"Developmental Opacities of teeth in a New England community; their relation to fluorine toxicosis" Am J Dis Child 77:61-75 (1949)

In 1949 Hurme also observed more enamel opacities in the upper incisors of black children.

Kumar JV, Swango PA - "Fluoride exposure and dental fluorosis in Newburgh and Kingston, New York: policy implications" Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 27(3):171-80  (1999)

"The increase in risk from 1986 to 1995 was greater for African-American children."

Russell AL -"Dental Fluorosis in Grand Rapids during the 17th year of fluoridation" JAMA 65:608-612 (1962)

Fluorosis in 19.3% in the white children, and 40.2 percent in the black children.

Silberman SL, Duncan WK, Trubman A, Meydrech EF - "Primary canine hypoplasia in Head Start children" J Public Health Dent 49(1):15-8 (1989)

Silberman SL, Trubman A, Duncan WK, Meydrech EF - "Prevalence of primary canine hypoplasia of the mandibular teeth" Pediatr Dent 13(6):356-60 (1991)

"The prevalence rate of primary canine hypoplasia was 33.2% for black children and 17.2% for white children. These data indicate that this lesion is significantly more prevalent in blacks than whites, and that teeth with this lesion have a greater probability of developing dental caries."

THYROID - RACE

Chek K, Kerr GR - "Factors associated with fetal mortality in the triethnic population in Texas, 1993 through 1995" Tex Med 95(12):78-83  (1999)

Edupuganti S, Svec F, Bao W, Srinivasan SR, Berenson GS - "Thyroid function in children with different lipoprotein profiles: observations in a biracial (black/white) population--the Bogalusa Heart Study" Am J Med Sci 313(2):80-4(1997)

"An unexpected finding was a significantly increased mean serum TSH in whites (2.09 + 0.91; mean + standard error of mean) when compared to blacks (1.74 + 0.10; P = 0.0185)."

Long TJ, Felice ME, Hollingsworth DR - "Goiter in pregnant teenagers" Am J Obstet Gynecol 1985 Jul 15;152(6 Pt 1):670-4(1985)

"Black patients had significantly more thyroid disease than Mexican-American (p less than 0.01) or white patients (p less than 0.005).”

Krogman W - "Child Growth" Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press p.161 (1972)

Lorey FW, Cunningham GC - "Birth prevalence of primary congenital hypothyroidism by sex and ethnicity" Hum Biol 64(4):531-8 (1992)

Mulla ZD, Margo CE  -"Primary malignancies of the thyroid: epidemiologic analysis of the Florida Cancer Data System registry" Ann Epidemiol10(1):24-30 (2000) 

Schectman JM, Kallenberg GA, Hirsch RP, Shumacher RJ - "Report of an association between race and thyroid stimulating hormone level" Am J Public Health. 81(4):505-6 (1991)

Sowers M, Luborsky J, Perdue C, Araujo KL, Goldman MB, Harlow SD; SWAN -"Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations and menopausal status in women at the mid-life: SWAN" Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 58(3):340-7 (2003)

"African American women had significantly lower mean TSH concentrations than Caucasian, Hispanic and Chinese women."

LOW BIRTH WEIGHT:

Seow WK - "Effects of preterm birth on oral growth and development" Aust Dent J 42(2):85-91 (1997)

Thyroid Cancer

Spitz MR, Sider JG, Katz RL, Pollack ES, Newell GR - "Ethnic patterns of thyroid cancer incidence in the United States, 1973-1981" Int J Cancer 42(4):549-53 (1988)

Thomas DB - "Epidemiologic studies of cancer in minority groups in the western United States" Natl Cancer Inst Monogr (53):103-13(1979)

Martinez-Mier EA, Soto-Rojas AE - "Differences in exposure and biological markers of fluoride among White and African American children" J Public Health Dent 70(3):234-40 (2010)
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs ... 10.00173.x
Dental fluorosis was observed in 62.5 percent White and 80.1 percent African American children.