Effects of fluoridated drinking water on rat enamel fluoride and its caries development.

Abstract

Abstract:The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of fluoridated drinking water on the fluoride content of the enamel and on the development of dental caries in the rat. Twenty-one-dayold Sprague-Dawly rats were subjected to a 4-week pre-caries test period during which they were fed a non cariogenic diet and given distilled water containing 0 ppm, 10 ppm, or 50 ppm fluoride concentration as sodium fluoride. After this period, each group was fed a cariogenic diet and given distilled water The results of this study strongly suggest that enamel-bound fluorides provided prior to a cariogenic challenge conferred protection from caries, especially, from sulcal lesions.