This report of a study of the concentration of fluoride in the surface‐enamel of teeth, obtained by biopsies, adds considerable information for investigators.
Children, in the fifth school grade (mean age 11 years) in a fluoridated water area, self-applied acidulated phosphate-F gel (1.2% F) in custom-fitted mouthpieces on 5, 10, or 25 consecutive school days. Enamel F uptake, penetration, and retention were determined from analysis of 1,257 deciduous teeth exfoliated during and after the applications. F penetrated to 200 micrometer in enamel exposed to 25 applications of the gel and increased approximately 2,600 ppm at a 5 micrometer depth. Concentrations of F declined for approximately eight months after which levels stabilized, resulting in a 1,600 ppm increase of firmly bound F.
Duplicate enamel blocks were cut from teeth of various age groups from areas differing in water fluoride. One enamel block received a fluoride treatment and the other served as control. Analysis of thin enamel layers revealed that ftuoride uptake was inversely proportional to the natural F- concentration and, in a lesser degree, to the age of the enamel.
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