The effects of high and low fluoride diets on the frequencies of sister chromatid exchanges.

A recent report suggests that fluoride has mutagenic activity in mice. To examine the potential clastogenic effect of ingested fluoride, we examined the frequencies of baseline SCE and mitomycin C induced SCE as well as baseline chromsomal aberrations and cell-cycle kinetics in mice raised on high and low fluoride diets. The lack of significant differences in any of these parameters between the two groups of animals indicates that dietary fluoride is not clastogenic and supports the continued use of water fluoridation.