Fluoride reactions with dental enamel following different forms of fluoride supply

abstract – The reactions with dental enamel of NaF as tablets dissolved in different beverages or supplied with NaCl, simulating domestic salt fluoridation, were studied in tests with enamel surfaces and enamel powder. It was confirmed that powdered enamel can react quite differently from enamel surfaces under certain conditions. Enamel surfaces took up much more fluoride (F) from orange juice than from water or milk, and neither the low pH nor the citrate content of the juice increased the formation of unstable CaF₂ in the enamel, as judged from a KOH leaching test. The F uptake by enamel surfaces from 0.25 mM NaF in 175 mM NaCl, corresponding to a dish prepared with salt containing 500 parts/10⁶ F, was about 80% greater than from the same NaF concentration in water. This NaCl concentration did not increase the formation of CaF₂ in the enamel, as judged from the KOH test, while 350 mM NaCl caused a moderate increase. The investigations support the administration of NaF tablets with orange juice and the plans for domestic salt fluoridation.