RATE OF APPOSITION OF ENAMEL AND DENTIN, MEASURED BY THE EFFECT OF ACUTE FLUOROSIS

Abstract

Recent findings on the effect of fluorosis on the growing teeth of lower animals paved the way for this quantitative study of the rate of apposition of human enamel and dentin. <h3>REVIEW OF THE DENTAL EFFECTS OF FLUOROSIS</h3> <i>Historical Summary</i>.—For many years a type of hypoplasia of the enamel known as mottled enamel was a challenging problem to members of the dental profession. The condition was endemic and characterized by a destructive chalky opacity and pitting of the enamel. Black and McKay,¹in 1916, first attempted to elucidate the underlying cause of this dental defect, and they were instrumental in initiating the large amount of research that followed. In 1931 Churchill suggested and Smith and her associates²established by experiments on animals that chronic fluoride intoxication was the direct cause of mottled teeth. Churchill arrived at his discovery by a direct approach, when he analyzed the water