The sorption of tin ions on human teeth from water and other drinks has been studied by the radioactive tracer technique using the isotope 113Sn (T(1/2) = 115.1 d) as a tracer. The tooth holds a minimum amount of tin from coffee and a maximum amount is held from water and from tea with sugar. The same technique was also used to study the desorption of tin already taken up on the teeth. It has been found that sorbed tin is hardly desorbed from the teeth specimens. The high uptake of tin on human teeth from various drinks showed that teeth act as a natural sieve holding trace elements.