Journal of Dental Research, Vol 67, 487-490, Copyright © 1988 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals

ARTICLES

The in vitro uptake of fluoride by secretory and maturation stage bovine enamel

R. A. Fridell, A. Lussi, M. A. Crenshaw and J. W. Bawden
Dental Research Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599, USA.

The objectives of this study were to determine the specific surface area of secretory-stage and of maturation-stage enamel, to compare the fluoride uptake by isolated enamel at these two stages on a surface-area basis, and to examine the effect of the organic matrix on the fluoride uptake by whole enamel. Fetal bovine secretory and maturation stage enamel samples were collected, and a portion of the enamel at each developmental stage was treated with hydrazine for removal of the organic matrix. The specific surface areas of the enamel mineral, as determined by the multi-point BET method, were 59.3 m2/g in the secretory stage and 37.9 m2/g in the maturation stage. Whole and deproteinated enamel samples were equilibrated in buffered solutions containing 10(-5) to 10(-3) mol/L fluoride, and the uptake was measured with a fluoride specific electrode. The results indicate that the in vitro fluoride uptake was controlled solely by the surface area of the apatitic mineral and that the organic matrix did not contribute to the fluoride uptake.

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