• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.262-274
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• 1999

Several alternatives for increasing the fluoride concentration in the mouth, such as water fluoridation, ingestion of fluoride supplements, fluoride paste, fluoride mouthrinse, application of fluoride gel are available. There is an impressive body of evidence that the topically deliverd fluorides are clinically effective in inhibiting the progression of dental caries. Recent studies on the cariostatic action of fluoride have indicated the importance of fluoride in the fluid environment of the teeth. The fluoride levels in unstimulated whole saliva can be considered indicative of F in the aqueous phase available for interaction with the tooth surface at a given time. The retention of F in the mouth after topical fluoride treatment is considered to be an important factor in the clinical efficacy of F. The aim of this study was to determine the elevation and clearance of fluoride in whole saliv after the following topical flouride treatments using HMDS-diffusion technique and fluoride ion electrode. The obtained results were as follow: 1. Average salivary fluoride concentration in the unstimulated whole saliva was $0.0152ppm{\pm}0.0091ppm$. Unstimulated salivary flow rate was between 0.34-0.36ml/min and there was no statistically significant difference among the groups(p>0.05). 2. Except for the immediate time after treatment, fluoride levels followed as APF gel>neutral gel>F-rinse>F-paste. There was no statistical difference between the salivary F concentration of F-paste group and that of control group after 2 hours. In case of F-rinse group, after 3 hours the concentration had dropped to baseline value. But there was statistically significant difference among the F concentraion of F gel groups and that of control group(p<0.05). 3. The mean $AUC_{0-120min}$ values were followed as neutral gel>APF gel>F-rinse>F-paste, and the values of the two former groups were significantly higher than those of the two latter groups(p<0.05).