The public health use of fluoride in communal water supplies for the prevention of dental caries is accepted worldwide and the safety efficacy of its use in trace concentrations in this manner have been repeatedly documented. The proven cariostatic activity of fluoride has resulted in the widespread of fluoride-containing products to further and this increasing use of fluoride, it is not surprisingly that questions pertaining to the safety of this agent continue to be raised. The overall goal of this Program Project is to develop additional scientific information to assure the continued safe use of fluoride for dental public health. The Program involves three projects with the appropriate support provided by three core units for administration, biostatistics, and laboratory analyses. Project #1 is designed to investigate the possible pharmacologic and genotoxic effects of fluoride associated with lifetime ingestion of optimal or elevated levels of fluoride in the drinking water, effects of fluoride ingestion in medically- compromised children and adults afflicted with diabetes or chronic renal failure, and the effects of massive dosages of fluoride used to treat osteoporosis. Project #2 utilizes controlled animal models to investigate the impact of various medically-compromising conditions (i.e., aging, diabetes, renal failure and malnutrition) upon the pharmologic effects of fluoride. Project #4 will investigate the effect of chronic nutritional inadequacies upon the pharmacologic effects of fluoride in population groups residing The Peoples Republic of China and in Ecuador.
