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Strontium and caries: a long and complicated relationship
1Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, Oral Health Research Institute, Indiana University School of Dentistry, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. flippert@iupui.edu
Caries Research
|October 12, 2012
Summary
Strontium (Sr) shows potential in preventing cavities, especially with fluoride. However, current evidence is insufficient to confirm its effectiveness in caries prevention due to a lack of robust clinical trials.
Area of Science:
- Dental research
- Caries prevention
- Trace element studies
Background:
- Strontium (Sr) research for caries prevention peaked in the 1970s-80s.
- Numerous animal, epidemiological, and mechanistic studies suggest potential cariostatic properties of Sr, particularly when combined with fluoride.
- An optimal Sr concentration of 5-10 ppm in drinking water was proposed based on epidemiological data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the current evidence on strontium's role in caries prevention.
- To identify limitations in existing research and suggest future directions.
Main Methods:
- Review of animal caries studies.
- Analysis of epidemiological data on strontium and fluoride.
- Examination of mechanistic studies on strontium's effects.
Main Results:
- The majority of studies suggest strontium has some cariostatic properties, especially with fluoride.
- Epidemiological studies proposed an optimal strontium concentration, but results are confounded by other trace elements.
- A significant lack of randomized controlled trials hinders definitive conclusions on strontium's efficacy.
Conclusions:
- Current data does not conclusively support the cariostatic properties of strontium.
- Further research is needed, focusing on mineral phases in dental tissues, plaque, and plaque fluid.
- Randomized controlled trials are essential to establish a direct link between strontium and caries prevention.
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