Study on the simultaneous measurement of fluorine and calcium in human teeth by neutron activation analysis

This study was undertaken to examine the potential of neutron activation analysis in the simultaneous measurement of F and Ca concentrations responsible for the occurence of dental caries. The contents of F and Ca were found to be 556±43.6 ppm and 26.3±1.5%, respectively, in the dental powder samples. These results were in good accordance with those with other routine chemical analysis. The neutron activation method allowed F and Ca contents to be measured simultaneously; F and Ca contents in the upper central incisor was 298±38 ppm and 23.0±3.5%, respectively, on the left side and 261±40 ppm and 24.9±4.7%, respectively, on the right side. For the upper cuspid , F and Ca contents were 312±34 ppm and 24.4±1.1%, respectively; the corresponding figures were 276±52 ppm and 21.8±1.8% for the upper first molar. Regarding F and Ca contents, there was no significant difference between these teeth. In conclusion, neutron activation analysis is very useful for measuring F and Ca contents in teeth because of its high sensitivity, non-destructivivity and simultaneous measurement of multiple elements. (N.K.)