Journal of Dental Research, Vol 71, 1553-1557, Copyright © 1992 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
Distribution of fluoride in saliva and plaque fluid after a 0.048 mol/L NaF rinse
G. L. Vogel, C. M. Carey and J. Ekstrand
American Dental Association Health Foundation, Paffenbarger Research Center, Polymers Division, Gaithersburg, Maryland.
An ultramicro method has recently been described for measurement of
plaque-fluid fluoride concentration (Vogel et al., 1990a). This method was
used: (1) for exploration of the variation in fluoride concentration of
plaque fluid collected from the same buccal tooth sites following a 0.048
mol/L NaF (0.2%) rinse, and (2) for examination of the distribution of
fluoride in plaque fluid and saliva within one hour after this rinse.
Results indicated an average coefficient of variation (CV) of 31% for
plaque-fluid fluoride in triplicate samples recovered simultaneously from
the buccal-proximal region of two teeth after the rinse. This was similar
to the CV found for plaque-fluid fluoride from the same sites after
separate administrations of the rinse. A strong linear correlation was
found between salivary and plaque-fluid fluoride at 30 and 60 min after
rinse administration, showing that plaque-fluid fluoride is influenced by
the concentration of salivary fluoride after administration of this rinse.
Plaque-fluid fluoride concentrations were higher than that in saliva at
baseline, 30, and 60 min. Very large inter-site and intersubject variations
in plaque-fluid distribution were observed, with the central incisors
showing the slowest clearance. These variations suggest that an examination
of plaque-fluid fluoride from specific tooth regions may be essential for
understanding the effects of fluoride on the site-specificity of caries.
