Fluoride intake and its safety among heavy tea drinkers in a British fluoridated city

Tea-drinking in very young children has been studied in a British city. The results suggested that the fluoride in tea would, in some cases, be sufficient to influence caries. Clinical findings to some extent supported this. The main purpose of the investigation reported here was to determine maximum possible fluoride intake in adults who were heavy tea drinkers in a fluoridated city and relate it to toxic thresholds. Heavy tea drinkers were traced through Health Visitors and voluntary organizations and the volumes and fluoride concentrations of their drinks were measured. Even the highest intake found (9 mg) is below the probable intake in Bartlett, Texas (8 ppm of fluoride), in relation to which no undesirable symptoms have been reported (Leone et al. 1954). This confirms the safety of fluoridation. The effects on fluoride concentration of evaporating soft and hard fluoride-containing waters to small bulk were compared. The results showed ceilings of 3 ppm of fluoride in hard water and about 14 ppm in soft water, much higher than the levels expected on the basis of the usually stated solubility of CaF2 (16 or 8 ppm of fluoride). However, under normal household conditions, it is most unlikely that dangerous levels of fluoride would be ingested from boiled water.