ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the beneficial effects to teeth from fluoride tablets and solutions which are swallowed and absorbed and reviews topical applications of fluoride for the control of dental caries. It reviews the use of fluoride in the treatment of bone disease, principally osteoporosis and looks at the analytical determination of fluoride in one tissue, blood. The book focuses on the distribution of fluoride in the various body compartments and consider various factors which might change the efficiency of renal excretion. It also reviews how fluorinated anesthetics are metabolized by subcellular components and presents the development of dose schedules for the prevention of caries with supplemental fluoride which, under certain circumstances, can lead to undesirable levels of dental mottling.
