Esthetic comparison of white-spot lesion treatment modalities using spectrometry and fluorescence

To compare the esthetic improvements of white-spot lesions (WSLs) treated by fluoride, casein phosphopeptide amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP), or resin infiltration.

WSLs were created on human enamel and randomly assigned to four groups: NaF (500 ppm), CPP-ACP, resin infiltration (Icon), or distilled deionized water (DDW; control group). The color change (ΔE) of each specimen was measured with a Crystaleye spectrophotometer, and fluorescence loss (ΔQ) was measured by quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF), at different time points after treatment: baseline (0 weeks), 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 6 weeks.

The ΔE and ΔQ baseline values for the four groups before the treatments did not differ significantly. Icon treatment improved the WSL color significantly and gave the lowest ΔE (2.9 ± 1.2 on average) compared with other treatments (P < .01). The Icon treatment also resulted in a significant change in the ΔQ of WSLs compared with baseline (P < .01). In the NaF and CPP-ACP treatment groups, ΔQ showed significant recovery compared with the baseline values only after 4 weeks after treatment (P < .05).

Resin infiltration is more effective than NaF or CPP-ACP in providing esthetic improvement of WSLs.