Paper: Does Fluoride Gel/Foam Application Time affect Enamel Demineralization? (AADR Annual Meeting (March 21-24, 2012))

Friday, March 23, 2012: 3:30 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

Presentation Type: Poster Session

L. GARRETT¹, A.D. BRAXTON², D. TANTBIROJN², and A. VERSLUIS³, ¹College of Dentistry, University of Tennessee, Memphis, TN, ²Restorative Dentistry, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, ³Bioscience Research, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN

Objectives: To determine if a one-minute application of acidulated phosphate fluoride (APF) gel or foam is equivalent to a four-minute application for reduction of enamel demineralization.

Methods: Fifty bovine incisors were polished to produce a small flat enamel surface area for baseline Vickers hardness (VH) measurements. Each tooth was randomly assigned to one of five groups: (1) Control: no fluoride treatment, (2) 1 minute APF-gel treatment, (3) 4 minutes APF-gel treatment, (4) 1 minute APF-foam treatment, and (5) 4 minutes APF-foam treatment. After treatment, samples were submerged in saliva at 37°C for 30 minutes (IRB# 11-01367-XP), rinsed with deionized water, dried, and submerged in lactic acid gel pH 5.1 for three hours at 37°C. Post 3hr VH was measured and the difference in hardness was determined as an indication of demineralization. The hardness values were subjected to ANOVA/Student-Newman-Keuls (significance level 0.05).

Results: Baseline hardness was not significantly different among groups. Enamel hardness was reduced in all groups after the three-hour exposure to lactic acid gel. The reduction was significantly less in all APF-treatment groups compared to the control. Enamel hardness was not significantly different whether the tooth was exposed to APF gel or foam for 1 minute or 4 minutes.

	Mean (SD) Vickers Hardness
Treatment	Baseline	Post 3hr	Difference
Control	364(8)^a	282(17)^b	82.8(17)^b
1-min Gel	363(20)^a	311(17)^a	51.9(26)^a
4-min Gel	366(15)^a	319(23)^a	47.5(29)^a
1-min Foam	357(27)^a	320(26)^a	36.7(17)^a
4-min Foam	363(16)^a	327(17)^a	35.5(25)^a

Same superscript letters indicate no significant difference between groups

Conclusions: APF gel and foam maintained a higher enamel hardness value (less demineralization) after acid exposure compared to the control that did not receive any treatment. One- or four-minute application time of APF gel or foam did not affect the degree of enamel demineralization.

Acknowledgement: Supported, in part, by UT College of Dentistry Alumni Student Research Training Program.

Keywords: Caries, Demineralization, Enamel, Fluoride and Hardness

See more of: Cariology: Fluoride and Ca-based Products I
See more of: Cariology Research - Fluoride and Ca-based Products

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1095 Does Fluoride Gel/Foam Application Time affect Enamel Demineralization?