NZ Ministry of Health Web Page
Printed 11/25/2009 11:09:26 PM
Back
Print
Fluoridation in New Zealand
What is fluoride?
Fluoride is a natural element found in air, soil, fresh water, seawater, plants and lots of foods.
Fluoride is an ‘ion’ (an electrically charged atom) of fluorine, the 17th most common element in the earth's crust. The earth’s crust contains about 900 parts of fluoride per million (ppm).
In living tissues, fluoride has always been present in animals (mainly in dental enamel and bone) and in plants.
The concentration of fluoride found in soils varies from place to place. In seawater it is found in concentrations ranging from 0.8 to 1.4 ppm. It is also present in almost all fresh ground water at varying concentrations.