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Fluoride binding by Streptococcus mutans in vitro was influenced by the composition of the incubation medium. Accumulation was rapid, sensitive, and irreversible. The remarkable differences between binding at lower (1–8 ppm) and higher (10 ppm and above) exogenous F^- concentrations probably indicated the operation of more than one uptake mechanism. Fluoride binding was remarkedly enhanced by 0.5–5 mM Ca²⁺, and the stimulatory effect of Ca²⁺ could not be demonstrated by its replacement with ions such as Na⁺ and K⁺, and addition of Mg²⁺ to Ca²⁺ resulted in abolition of F^- binding. Ca²⁺-enhanced F^- accumulation by S. mutans may have resulted in receptor site(s) changes leading to covalent bonding of the anion. This study may relate to the cariostatic action of fluoride.

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