Endemic fluorosis in San Luis Potosi, Mexico IV. Sources of fluoride exposure

The high prevalence of dental fluorosis in San Luis Potosi (SLP) cannot be attributed only to the fluoride concentrations in drinking water. The present work was carried out to study fluoride levels in different kinds of beverages. This work assumes that these beverages were contaminated with fluoride as a result of using water with high fluoride content in their production. Different brands of bottled juice, bottled water and soft drinks were analyzed. Some brands showed higher fluoride levels than others. However, the most popular brands for bottled juice and bottled water were among those having the highest fluoride level. With these results, and applying the risk factor of boiling the water (which increases the fluoride concentration in direct proportion to the loss of volume), exposure doses to fluoride were estimated. The dose estimated for infants in SLP in their first semester of life was 0.31 mg/kg/day, and that for infants one year old was 0.26 mg/kg/day. These estimations agree well with the fact that infants born in SLP are heavily exposed to fluoride during the first year of their life. Also, they explain the excessive prevalence of dental fluorosis in areas of SLP with low levels of fluoride in drinking water.

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