FLUORINE STORAGE IN RATS RECEIVING DIFFERENT FLUORIDES IN THE DRINKING WATER AT VARYING pH

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

The pH of fluoridized drinking water determines to a major degree the effectiveness of stannous fluoride or stannous chlorofluoride in reducing the incidence of dental caries in the rat. As the pH is increased from 2 to 4, the effectiveness is decreased by approximately 50 per cent. Stannous chlorofluoride appears superior to both stannous fluoride and sodium fluoride, even at higher pH values.

When identical amounts of fluorine were given, similar amounts of fluorine were stored in the femurs. In rats given fluorine by means of a stomach tube, only one-half the ingested fluoride was stored in the carcass. Stannous fluoride and sodium monofluorophosphate appeared to cause the storage of less fluorine than stannous chlorofluoride or sodium fluoride, when the compounds were given by stomach tube in aqueous solution.