water bacteriological quality of cistern water in rural areas of agh-ghala and bandar torkman, northeast iran, 2008

fluoride is one of the most important elements in the composition of teeth and bones. this element can enter the body via different ways. however, drinking water is the most important way to receive fluoride by a lot of people. an increase in fluoride level in the body causes dental fluorosis and its absence leads to teeth decay. standard rate of fluoride in drinking water is determined by the ambient air temperature. in general, standard level of fluoride in drinking water in winter, mainly due to less water consumption, is high, and in summer, due to more consumption of water, is not remarkable. in this study, fluoride has been determined in 4 groundwater and surface water resources on 1.5 year period. from each resource every month, 4 samples were obtained and analyzed according to spands method. results shownd that fluoride concentration in sanandaj water resources (0.31 mg/l average) was less than the recommended standards. fluoride concentration did not show significant differences in different water resources of this city (p-value> 0.05). fluoride levels in sanandaj drinking water are low. therefore, according to cold climate of sanandaj and low per capita water consumption in winter and low fluoride capture from other sources, fluorination of drinking water or using fluoride mouthwash are recommended to provide the required amount of fluoride for the people of sanandaj, especially the children.