Plasma Fluoride Concentrations in Pre-School Children after Ingestion of Fluoride Tablets and Toothpaste

Abstract

Plasma F- concentration and urinary F- excretion were studied in 5 children, age 3-4 yr, after intake of F- tablets (0.5 mg) and 0.6 g of 2 NaF toothpastes containing 0.1 and 0.025% F-, corresponding to 0.6 and 0.15 mg F-, respectively. Mean baseline plasma F- was 0.79 .+-. (SD) 0.10 .mu.M. After intake of tablets or 0.1% F- toothpaste the increase in plasma levels was almost identical in all children. The plasma peaks were registered at 30 min and were 4.47 .+-. 0.47 and 3.63 .+-. 0.45 .mu.M F-, respectively. The 0.025% F- toothpaste only resulted in a modest increase: 1.5 .+-. 0.19 .mu.M F-. The F- urinary output showed great interindividual variations which demonstrated the difficulties in obtaining reliable information on F- intake from this parameter alone.