RESEARCH ARTICLE


Remineralization of Eroded Enamel Lesions by Simulated Saliva In Vitro



Robert L Karlinseya, *, Allen C Mackeya, Douglas D Blankena, Craig S Schwandtb
a RL Karlinsey, Indiana Nanotech, 351 West 10th Street, Suite 309, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202 USA
b McCrone Associates, Inc., 850 Pasquinelli Drive, Westmont, IL 60559-5539 USA


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Creative Commons License
© Karlinsey et al.; Licensee Bentham Open.

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Indiana Nanotech, 351 West 10th Street, Suite 309, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202 USA; Tel: +1-317-278-7892; Fax: +1317-278-4102; E-mail: rlk.nanotech@gmail.com


Abstract

Purpose:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of two simulated saliva (SS) remineralization solutions comprising different calcium-inorganic phosphate (Ca/Pi) ratios on eroded enamel.

Methods:

3 mm diameter enamel cores were extracted from bovine teeth, mounted in acrylic rods, ground and polished,and initially demineralized with either 0.3% (120 minutes) or 1.0% (30 minutes) citric acid solutions (pH 3.8). Both sets of initially eroded specimens were evaluated for surface microhardness (N=10) and treated with either 0.3 or 1.6 Ca/Pi ratio SS. Groups were first exposed to a seven-day remineralization period and then were cycled in a three-day regimen consisting daily of three rounds of two-hour plus overnight SS treatments and three 10-minute static immersions in demineralization solution. Specimens were assessed using surface microhardness and scanning electron microscopy.

Results:

Initial erosion from 0.3% citric acid led to elliptical-shaped pore openings several microns in length and in depth and contrasted significantly with respect to 1% citric acid. The greatest remineralization was observed from the 0.3 Ca/Pi SS, while the 1.6 Ca/Pi SS produced the least.

Conclusions:

This study demonstrated the nature of remineralization of eroded enamel depends on both initial erosive conditions and the Ca/Pi ratio of simulated saliva.

Keywords:: Citric acid, calcium, phosphate, scanning electron microscopy, microhardness.