Fluoride in the Surface Enamel of Teeth from the Same Mouth

¹ Department of Preventive Medicine and School of Dentistry,^* Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel

The surface-enamel layer of 135 teeth, carious and non-carious, of different eruption periods, extracted from 18 patients, aged 30-59 years, and 17 teeth of unknown age were analyzed for fluoride. The fluoride content varied between 138 and 1,739 ppm. The mean fluoride value was 527.7 ppm. The difference between the mean fluoride values of the buccal- (527.7 ppm) and lingual- (534.8 ppm) surface enamel was not significant. The difference between the mean fluoride values of the mesial- (490 ppm) and distal- (489 ppm) surface enamel was not significant. The difference between the mean fluoride values of the buccal- or lingual-surface enamel and the mesial- or distal-surface enamel was significant. The differences and the correlation coefficient between the fluoride content of the surface enamel of all teeth, according to their eruption age or to the age of the person, were significant. The difference between the mean fluoride values of the surface enamel in sound teeth (503.8 ppm) and of the sound portion in carious teeth (475.0 ppm) was not significant.