THE EFFECTS OF SEVERAL FLUORIDE REAGENTS ON THE STRUCTURE OF WHOLE TEETH

¹ Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.

The data of this report in comparison to the data on powdered enamel indicate that, as far as gross changes are concerned, whole teeth respond similarly but more slowly to treatment with fluoride reagents than does powdered enamel. The significance of the rate difference may be explained on the basis of the earlier reports that the change develops upon the enamel surfaces in the powdered enamel specimens; a relatively larger fraction of the total enamel content is on the surface than is the case in whole teeth and, therefore, any surface reaction should develop more quickly on powdered enamel than on whole teeth. It should be emphasized again that this report deals entirely with gross changes from an apatite structure to an entirely different structure, and not with changes, if any, within the apatite series of structures.