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Updated: Jun 7, 2026

Sampling and Pretreatment of Tooth Enamel Carbonate for Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Analysis
Published on: August 15, 2018
Influence of storage solution on enamel demineralization submitted to pH cycling
Juliana Silva Moura1, Lidiany Karla Azevedo Rodrigues, Altair Antoninha Del Bel Cury
1Department of Prosthesis and Periodontology, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas, Brazil.
Abstract:
Extracted human teeth are frequently used for research or educational purposes. Therefore, it is necessary to store them in disinfectant solutions that do not alter dental structures. Thus, this study evaluated the influence of storage solution on enamel demineralization. For that purpose, sixty samples were divided into the following groups: enamel stored in formaldehyde (F1), stored in thymol (T1), stored in formaldehyde and submitted to pH cycling (F2), stored in thymol and submitted to pH cycling (T2). All samples were evaluated by cross-sectional microhardness analysis and had their percentage of mineral volume versus micrometer (integrated area) determined. Differences between groups were found up to 30-µm depth from the enamel surface (p < 0.05), where samples from group T2 were more demineralized. It was concluded that the storage solution influenced the reaction of a dental substrate to a cariogenic challenge, suggesting that formaldehyde may increase enamel resistance to demineralization, when compared to demineralization occurring in enamel stored in thymol solution.
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