Abstract
Female mice were fed a low fluoride diet (0.1 to 0.3 ppm fluoride) plus drinking water containing 0, 50, 100 or 200 ppm fluoride as sodium fluoride. Toxic effects of fluoride were evidenced by retarded growth and impaired reproduction in mice with intakes of 100 and 200 ppm fluoride, and the higher level resulted in a high mortality rate (50% deaths in 5 weeks). Mice with a low fluoride intake developed signs of fluorine deficiency, with a progressive development of infertility in two successive generations. Growth rate and litter size were not affected by the low fluoride intake, but the percentage of mice producing litters was lower, and the age at delivery of the first litter was greater than in mice receiving 50 ppm fluoride.