Purpose: To evaluate the fluoride concentration in bottled mineral water and soft drinks marketed in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil.
Methods: Fifteen commercial brands of mineral water and seven types of “guaraná”-based soft drinks sold in the Amazon region were analyzed. The beverages of three different batches were acquired from the local market. The samples were analyzed in duplicate, using an ORION 720-A ion analyzer with the ORION 96-09 ion-specific electrode, previously calibrated using standard solutions containing from 0.125 to 1.0g μF/mL. The readings in mV were converted into ppm of fluoride by linear regression.
Results: The samples of mineral water and soft drinks displayed fluoride concentration ranges of 0.04-1.02 and 0.04-0.14 μF/mL, respectively. Only one brand of mineral water had a concentration of fluoride higher than the official Brazilian recommendation for human consumption.
Conclusion: In general, the fluoride concentration in the bottled mineral water and soft drink beverages sold in the Amazon is negligible to provide any preventive effect in terms of caries control, even though the bottles of mineral water advertise the content as “Fluoridated Mineral Water”.