Inhibition of caries progression by resin infiltration in situ

The infiltration of caries lesions with low-viscosity light-curing resins (infiltrants) has been shown to inhibit further demineralization in vitro. The aim of the present study was to assess the efficacy of resin infiltration in preventing lesion progression in situ. In each of 104 bovine enamel specimens, 2 artificial enamel caries lesions were created. The specimens were randomly allocated to 2 groups: in the test group, 1 of the lesions was etched for 5 s (37% H(3)PO(4)) and subsequently infiltrated twice with a preproduct infiltrant, each time for 60 s. As a positive control, 1 lesion was superficially sealed with a fissure sealant. The second lesion in each specimen served as an untreated control. The specimens were inserted into intraoral appliances and worn by 11 volunteers in the mandibular buccal sulcus for 100 days. Plaque accumulation was promoted by a mesh, and the appliances were stored in 10% sucrose solution (2 x 30 min/day). The specimens were analyzed using transversal microradiography and wavelength-independent microradiography. The specimens of 2 participants were excluded from analysis. The baseline integrated mineral losses (transversal microradiography values; mean +/- SD: 2474 +/- 549 vol% x mum) and lesion depths (98 +/- 20 mum) did not differ significantly between the various groups (p > 0.05; paired t test). After the in situ phase, the infiltrated and positive control lesions showed significantly less progression compared to the untreated controls (p < 0.05). It can be concluded that resin infiltration is efficacious in preventing further demineralization of artificial enamel caries lesions under cariogenic conditions in situ.