Urinary Fluoride Excretion After Milk And Tea Consumption In Young Adults By Melinda Szekely , Zita Fazakas , Victor Balogh-Samarghipan , Jolan Banoczy

The aim of this study was to assess urinary fluoride (F) excretion under customary diet and controlled F intake conditions in young adults, and also to compare the bioavailability of F administered systematically in milk, together with, or without, tea consumption. Methods: The study comprised 36 subjects aged 19-23 years living in the city of Targu-Mures, Romania, where tea drinking is part of the daily diet and the F content of the tap water is low. The fluoride was administered in milk, together with, or without, tea consumption. The study was divided into three phases, each of two weeks during which the subjects drank daily: first phase, 200 ml tea (2.11 mg F/l); second phase, 200 ml tea and 200 ml fluoridated milk (5 mg F/l); third phase, 200 ml fluoridated milk (5 mg F/l). Urine sampling was conducted every 24 hours and analysed for fluoride using a fluoride electrode. The apparent bioavailability of F from the fluoridated milk, administered together with or without tea consumption, was calculated from the 24-hour urinary fluoride excretion data. A statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA and Student’s t-tests. Results: The mean values (±SD) of the daily urinary fluoride excretion were: at baseline, 0.297±0.101 mg F; after the first phase, 0.451±0.111 mg F; after the second phase, 0.757±0.162 mg F; and after the third phase, 0.603±0.168 mg F, respectively (P<0.0001). Compared with the F bioavailability from tea, the bioavailability from fluoridated milk consumed with tea was 90.38% and from fluoridated milk was 86.84%, respectively. Conclusions: Fluoride administered in milk, together with tea consumption, resulted in higher urinary fluoride excretion but only a slight decrease in F bioavailability. These findings appear to indicate that milk is an appropriate vehicle for F supplementation on a community basis in regular tea-drinking young adults.

Link : http://oralhealth.ro/volumes/2010/volume-1/V1-10-9.pdf