In the recent Journal of American Dental Association (JADA), doctors are warned against possibility of fluoride toxicity while prescribing fluoride dosage to patients with oral problems.
High concentrations of fluoride dosage are often prescribed to patients to check caries, especially those suffering from mouth cancer. In the recent issue of JADA, authors Frederick C. Eichmiller, Naomi Eidelman, and Clifton M. Carey have pointed out that topical application of fluoride gel also may lead to fluoride toxicity. The authors have advised the doctors on the restricted use of fluoride among cancer patients and otherwise in order to avoid the fluoride toxicity from overdose.Fluoride toxicity is often characterized by digestive disorders, inability to swallow, soreness in the joints and muscles, especially that of legs, and general feeling of unwell.
Fluoride toxicity affects patients very subtly and may not be diagnosed till at a very advanced stage. In India cases of fluoride toxicity were reported from Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh where an overdose of fluoride in drinking water has affected about a million people, who are suffering from joint pains, abnormal growth in the joints, respiratory disorders etc. there had been even reports of fluoride toxicity arising out of drinking some form of instant tea.
