Background and purpose: Fluoride is one of the most important elements in the composition of teeth and bones. Itcan enter the body through different ways. The main means of absorption is drinking water. This study was done to determine the amount of fluorine in drinking-water resources of rural areas in Mazandaran province. Material and methods: This retrospective descriptive study was carried out in rural drinking waterresources in 15 cities of Mazandaran province, Iran, 2011. A total of 642 samples was analyzed in four seasons. In each season, about 160 water samples were taken from ground or elevated reservoirs. The maximum and minimum numbers of seasonal water samples were 183 and 144, respectively. All samples were transferred to various laboratories affiliated withWater and SewageCompany and were analyzed according to standardreferences. Results: Out of 642 samples, 94.23% was less than the standard level and 5.77% was in standard level. The meanof fluorine concentration inruralareas of Mazandaran province was significantly different. The highestamount of fluorine in drinking water at rural areas was 0.6 mg/l in spring and the lowest level was observed in summer (0.06 mg/l). The mean concentration offluorine in drinking water of the rural areas of Mazandaran province was 0.31 mg/l. Conclusion: The amount of fluorine in all water resources of rural areas in Mazandaran province is lower than the recommended minimum value, so it is an urgent necessity to plan for solving this problem.

Keywords: Fluorine, drinking water, rural areas Mazandaran

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