Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Fluoride And Mineralized Tissues, Debbie Chachra, Anya Vieira, Marc Grynpas

Debbie Chachra

This review focuses on the interaction of fluoride with the material properties of bone and teeth, which is of clinical, scientific, and public health interest. These tissues are composed primarily of collagen (protein) and hydroxyapatite (mineral), and their mechanical function depends on the properties of the constituents, their proportions, the interface, and the three-dimensional structure. Changing any of these may have clinical consequences. Fluoride interacts with mineralized tissues in a number of ways. At low doses, the fluoride may be passively incorporated into the mineral, stabilizing it against dissolution; this is one of the mechanisms by which municipally fluoridated water …