title: Dental fluorosis and skeletal fluoride content as biomarkers of excess fluoride exposure in marsupials.
abstract: Particulate and gaseous fluoride emissions contaminate vegetation near fluoride-emitting industries, potentially impacting herbivorous wildlife in neighboring areas. Dental fluorosis has been associated with consumption of fluoride-contaminated foliage by juvenile livestock and wildlife in Europe and North America. For the first time, we explored the epidemiology and comparative pathology of dental fluorosis in Australian marsupials residing near an aluminium smelter. Six species (Macropus giganteus, Macropus rufogriseus, Wallabia bicolor, Phascolarctos cinereus, Trichosurus vulpecula, Pseudocheirus peregrinus) demonstrated significantly higher bone fluoride levels in the high (n=161 individuals), compared to the low (n=67 individuals), fluoride areas (p<0.001). Necropsy examinations of all six species from the high-fluoride area near the smelter revealed dental lesions considered characteristic of dental fluorosis in eutherian mammals. Within the high-fluoride area, 67% of individuals across the six species showed dental enamel lesions, compared to 3% in the low-fluoride areas. Molars that erupted before weaning were significantly less likely to display pathological lesions than those developing later, and molars in the posterior portion of the dental arcade were more severely fluorotic than anterior molars in all six species. The severity of dental lesions was positively associated with increasing bone fluoride levels in all species, revealing a potential biomarker of excess fluoride exposure.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Melbourne, 250 Princess Hwy., Werribee, Victoria, 3030, Australia. Electronic address: drcedeath@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Death
authors.affiliation: School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Graeme
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coulson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Hildesheim, Universitätsplatz 1, 31141 Hildesheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kierdorf
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Hildesheim, Universitätsplatz 1, 31141 Hildesheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Horst
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kierdorf
authors.affiliation: The Quantitative & Applied Ecology Group, School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, 3010.
authors.forename: William K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Melbourne, 250 Princess Hwy., Werribee, Victoria, 3030, Australia.
authors.forename: Jasmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hufschmid
mesh_terms: D000820:Animal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000737:chemistry; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000737:chemistry*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005459:Fluorides / Q000032:analysis*; D009050:Fluorosis, Dental / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008394:Marsupialia
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005459:Fluorides
keywords: Biomarker; Dental pathology; Fluoride; Fluorosis; Marsupial; Teeth