Fingernail may not be a reliable biomarker of fluoride body burden from dentifrice

• Autor(a) principal: Lima-Arsati,Ynara Bosco Oliveira
• Data de Publicação: 2010
• Outros Autores: Martins,Carolina Castro, Rocha,Lília Alves, Cury,Jaime Aparecido
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Brazilian Dental Journal
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-64402010000200001
• topic: fluoride; water; fluoridation; dentifrice; fingernail; biomarkers; fluorosis

Fingernail has been suggested as a biomarker of fluoride (F) body burden, but there is no consensus if it would be a reliable indicator of F exposure from dentifrice. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate if fingernails would have sensitivity to detect F exposure from dentifrice in young children. Twenty-three 1-3-year-old children living in the city of Piracicaba (0.72 ppm F in water), Brazil, were enrolled in two phases of different F exposure: in phase A (1st to 11th week), they were exposed to the combination of F from diet (solids and liquids) and dentifrice (1,500 µg F/g as MFP), and in phase B (12th to 29th week), only to F from diet (the use of F dentifrice was interrupted). Fingernails were weekly clipped during 35 weeks for F determination. F intake from diet and dentifrice in each phase was also determined. Both analyses were made with ion-specific electrode. F intake (Mean ± SD) was significantly higher (p<0.01) when the children were exposed to F from diet+dentifrice than only to F from diet (0.086 ± 0.032 and 0.040 ± 0.009 mg F/day/kg body weight, respectively). However, F concentrations in nails collected during the whole experimental period of 35 weeks presented great variation with no trend of decreasing after F dentifrice intake interruption. The findings suggest that fingernail may not be a reliable F biomarker of body burden from dentifrice.