Health risk assessment in an area of dental fluorosis disease from high fluoride drinking water: a case study from southeastern Turkiye

This study focuses on identifying fluoride (F-) concentrations and its health risk assessment (HRA) in drinking water sources in south-eastern Turkiye. Groundwater quality was assessed using some graphical approaches such as Schoeller and Piper diagrams and GIS mapping. Average daily exposure dosages through oral and dermal contact exposure routes were considered to determine the potential health risk of F- in groundwater. Groundwater samples were taken from 53 points in spring, summer, autumn, and winter seasons. The results showed that the average annual F- concentrations in water resources in the study area were 0.26-3.62 mg/L. According to the HRA results, the highest F- health risk in this region was observed in children, followed by teenagers and adults. This study indicated that there is a strong relationship between the high health risk (4.28 > 3.5) in children and dental fluorosis caused by high F- concentration in groundwater.