Skeletal fluorosis: Recent reports from India

December 21st, 2009

Skeletal fluorosis is a bone disease caused by excessive consumption of fluoride. In India, the most common cause of fluorosis is fluoride-laden water derived from borewells dug deep into the earth While fluorosis is most severe and widespread in the two largest countries - India and China - UNICEF estimates that "fluorosis is endemic in at least 25 countries across the globe. The total number of people affected is not known, but a conservative estimate would number in the tens of millions." Common causes of fluorosis include: inhalation of fluoride dusts/fumes by workers in industry, use of coal as an indoor fuel source (a common practice in China), and consumption of fluoride from drinking water.