[Effect of an electric field on the penetration of fluorides into dental enamel, studied in vitro and in vivo].

The aim of the present study is to determine the influence of iontophoresis on the deposition of fluorine in dental enamel. A micromethod of fluorine-deposition and of dental enamel-sampling was perfected in vitro; it was then applied in vivo. Fluorine was layed down by topical and iontophoretical way, under the form of sodium fluoride in neutral solution. In in-vitro and in 2 in-vivo asseys 18F was used as an indicator, while in other ones fluorine was titrated by mean of a specific lanthan-fluoride electrode. Results from both methods agree. It is stated that the fluorine deposition on enamel remains lightly but significantly higher, in vivo as well as in vitro, when the tooth is subjected to a continuous electrical field.