Fluoride concentration of well water in different areas of Sulaimani province

Objectives: To determine the amount of fluoride concentration in well water of different places in Sulaimani province, Iraq. Materials and Methods: Twenty-two samples of well water were taken from different areas in Sulaimani Province. The areas are different from the geographical point of view. The water samples were directly taken from the wells pumps. Each sample was filtered through a 0.45 μm and 47 mm diameter membrane filter before analyzing by ion chromatography machine. The machine had been standardized for fluoride ion by using Dionex seven anion standard to allow the machine is reading fluoride ions within these certain concentrations. Anion identification is based on the comparison of analyte signal peak retention times relative to those of known standards. Quantitation is accomplished by measuring the peak area and comparing it to a calibration curve generated from known standards. Results: All the 22 samples had shown the very low amount of fluoride concentration. The maximum concentration was 0.157 mg/l, and the minimum concentration was zero mg/l. Conclusion: The fluoride ions in the samples taken from different sources of well water in Sulaimani province had shown concentrations that could not provide any benefits for the purpose of caries prevention.