Medical Geology of Fluoride

The link between fluoride geochemistry in water in an area and the incidence of dental and skeletal fluorosis is a well established relationship in medical geology. While the essentiality of fluoride for human health is still being debated, its toxicity has now caused considerable concern in many lands where fluoride is found in excessive quantities in the drinking water. As in the case of some essential trace elements, the optimum range of fluoride varies within a narrow range and this causes fluoride imbalances, very often in large populations, mostly in developing countries of the tropical belt.