Talk:Fluorapatite

Untitled
I just want to check that the reaction to produce the white phosphorus presented is not correct, it is unbalanced. The Fluorine and some Calcium is missing.

Name
The opening sentence states the Fluorapatite is an "alternate" spelling of the mineral Fluoroapatite. This is totally false. The official name, per the International Mineralogical Association, the overseeing body of mineralogy, is Fluorapatite. and fluoroapatite is the alternate spelling who's use is discouraged. This page should be redirected to Fluorapatite. Kevmin 04:14, 10 June 2007 (UTC)

Requested move
As per my comment of June 10 i am requesting this page be moved the Fluorapatite, currently a redirect to the incorrectly named Fluoroapatite. Kevmin 03:24, 6 October 2007 (UTC)


 * Agreed. Done. Vsmith 03:40, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

"not naturally occurring"
I'm not sure what it means to say that fluorapatite doesn't "naturally" occur in teeth. Any chemical routinely found in nature that the body sees fit to take up without conscious intervention surely occurs naturally in the body. According to this article "A fluoride level as low as 230 ug/g has been shown to significantly reduce the dissolution rate of apatite." (Since 230 ug/g would be a toxic 230 mg/L I presume they meant 230 ug/L, i.e. 0.23 mg/L.) So if drinking water drawn from rivers not artificially fluoridated were at this level or higher I would consider the resulting fluorapatite to occur naturally in teeth. According to the article Fluoride in UK Rivers, "Within the main rivers and tributaries, the mean fluoride concentration varied from approximately 0.5 to over 2 mg/L." From this standpoint therefore, on average UK residents drinking directly from main rivers would obtain their fluorapatite naturally. Vaughan Pratt (talk) 22:20, 21 September 2015 (UTC)

Good point! It may simply be helpful to point out that fluorapatite formation in dental enamel is promoted and increased by brushing with fluoride toothpaste. I am not certain about this issue, but it seems that fluorapatite predominates in sharks, but hydroxyapatite dominates in humans. This may be a result of different levels of exposure to fluoride, but I'm not sure if that is the whole story. Would be great to get some more detail on this. Verazzano (talk) 00:01, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Fluorapatite is resistant to bacteria?
The evidence is clear that fluoride prevents cavities, but there seems to be some confusion about the mechanism for this in the current version of this page. I believe that research shows that it is not fluorapatite itself that is resistant to bacteria, but rather that adding fluoride increases the formation of dental minerals, and thus counteracts the effects of the breakdown of those same minerals from acid-producing bacteria. I believe a study was designed very specifically to distinguish between these two possibilities. I will try to find the study and correct the page if appropriate. Verazzano (talk) 00:04, 30 November 2015 (UTC)