USA - FLUOROSIS IN HORSES DRINKING ARTIFICIALLY

FLUOROSIS IN HORSES DRINKING ARTIFICIALLY
FLUORIDATED WATER
Pixi Macicek,a Lennart P Krookb
Hitchcock, Texas, and Ithaca, New York, USA
SUMMARY: Quarter Horses drinking water artificially fluoridated at 0.9 to 1.1 ppm
over long periods of time developed dental fluorosis. Even when the horses had not
been exposed to artificially fluoridated water (AFW) during formation of enamel,
brown discoloration occurred and progressed. Pronounced loss of tooth-supporting
alveolar bone with recession of bone and gingiva was also present as more severe
signs of chronic fluorosis than enamel changes alone. The scene of these events was
a lowland part of Texas just above sea level. AFW at these low concentrations can
obviously induce chronic fluorosis in its own right without the support of high
altitude.
With a change to low fluoride (0.1 ppm) well water, a remarkable improvement was
observed in the general health of the horses in a very short time. Most notably,
bothersome episodes of colic promptly ceased

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