- Email: [email protected]
Tea for Too Much Fluoride
successful. Dental clinics were small and had limited human resources. This was both a financial and a privacy issue. The dentists preferred to interact with patients at all stages of care, from reception to payment, and performed tasks usually done by subordinates. They took time to answer the telephone and take appointments, thereby improving mutual understanding and using the time as an opportunity to explain the importance of the dental visit. Common ground was also established by taking the payments themselves and negotiating with patients for the cost of treatment. Discussion.—Data have often been gathered about the difficulties faced by practitioners who deliver care in areas where people live in poverty. This study offers information about a socio-humanistic approach that has proved successful in disadvantaged areas of Montreal, Canada. The dentists involved have developed an original approach to treat their patients on the basis of empathy and good communication.
Clinical Significance.—The methods developed by these dentists recognized patients as fellow human beings and avoided judgmental attitudes. The clinicians have made efforts to empathize with the situations faced by their patients so that they can communicate effectively and create a strong connection. This approach has proved successful for them. Further research could investigate the effect of such an approach on access to dental services and on care experiences of the patients.
Loignon C, Allison P, Landry A, et al: Providing humanistic care: Dentists’ experiences in deprived areas. J Dent Res 89:991-995, 2010 Reprints available from C Loignon, Dept of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Univ de Sherbrooke, Complexe St-Charles, 1111, rue St-Charles Ouest, Tour Est, Suite 354, Longueuil, Qu ebec, Canada, J4K 5G4; e-mail: [email protected]
EXTRACTS TEA FOR TOO MUCH FLUORIDE Although fluoride helps in cavity prevention, the concentrations of fluoride in black tea may be higher than previously measured and above desired levels. Persons who consume large quantities of tea may develop skeletal fluorosis, which is manifested by pain in the joints and by adverse effects on the bone. Dr Gary Whitford of the Medical College of Georgia identified four patients with advanced skeletal fluorosis who had been drinking 1 to 2 gallons of tea daily for the past 10 to 30 years. Black tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, which accumulates large concentrations of fluoride and aluminum in its leaves, up to 1000 mg/kg of leaves. When the leaves are brewed for tea, some minerals leach into the drink. Traditional methods of measuring fluoride concentrations miss fluoride–aluminum combinations. Using a diffusion method that breaks the aluminum–fluoride bond, Whitford identified fluoride levels 1.4 to 3.3 times higher than those measured using the traditional method. Normal tea drinkers ingest only 1 to 5 mg/L of fluoride in black tea and between 2 and 3 mg through fluoridated drinking water, toothpaste, and food. Adverse effects on bone only occur with intakes of R20 mg/day for 10 or more years. As with most things, tea drinking is safe as long as it is done in moderation. [Greater Concentrations of Fluoride in Tea Than Once Thought. Medical News Today, July 15, 2010]
12
Dental Abstracts
Clinical Significance.—The methods developed by these dentists recognized patients as fellow human beings and avoided judgmental attitudes. The clinicians have made efforts to empathize with the situations faced by their patients so that they can communicate effectively and create a strong connection. This approach has proved successful for them. Further research could investigate the effect of such an approach on access to dental services and on care experiences of the patients.
Loignon C, Allison P, Landry A, et al: Providing humanistic care: Dentists’ experiences in deprived areas. J Dent Res 89:991-995, 2010 Reprints available from C Loignon, Dept of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Univ de Sherbrooke, Complexe St-Charles, 1111, rue St-Charles Ouest, Tour Est, Suite 354, Longueuil, Qu ebec, Canada, J4K 5G4; e-mail: [email protected]
EXTRACTS TEA FOR TOO MUCH FLUORIDE Although fluoride helps in cavity prevention, the concentrations of fluoride in black tea may be higher than previously measured and above desired levels. Persons who consume large quantities of tea may develop skeletal fluorosis, which is manifested by pain in the joints and by adverse effects on the bone. Dr Gary Whitford of the Medical College of Georgia identified four patients with advanced skeletal fluorosis who had been drinking 1 to 2 gallons of tea daily for the past 10 to 30 years. Black tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, which accumulates large concentrations of fluoride and aluminum in its leaves, up to 1000 mg/kg of leaves. When the leaves are brewed for tea, some minerals leach into the drink. Traditional methods of measuring fluoride concentrations miss fluoride–aluminum combinations. Using a diffusion method that breaks the aluminum–fluoride bond, Whitford identified fluoride levels 1.4 to 3.3 times higher than those measured using the traditional method. Normal tea drinkers ingest only 1 to 5 mg/L of fluoride in black tea and between 2 and 3 mg through fluoridated drinking water, toothpaste, and food. Adverse effects on bone only occur with intakes of R20 mg/day for 10 or more years. As with most things, tea drinking is safe as long as it is done in moderation. [Greater Concentrations of Fluoride in Tea Than Once Thought. Medical News Today, July 15, 2010]
12
Dental Abstracts