Effect of various remineralising agents on human eroded enamel of primary teeth

To determine the effect of three remineralising agents on human primary anterior teeth, i.e. CPP-ACP, CPP-ACPF, fluoridated toothpaste and artificial saliva as control.

Forty primary maxillary anterior teeth were divided into four groups: Group I: CPP-ACP, Group II: CPP-ACPF and Group III: fluoridated toothpaste as experimental and Group IV: artificial saliva as control. The samples were immersed in cola soft drink and artificial saliva for 10 cycles of 5 s each. After erosive procedure, a thin layer of CPP-ACP, CPP-ACPF or fluoridated toothpaste were applied to the tooth surfaces for 3 min, and kept in artificial saliva for 8 h. Samples in the control group were directly kept in artificial saliva without any treatment. The Knoop microhardness of the labial surface of enamel was measured at baseline, after erosion and after the remineralisation procedures.

No significant differences were observed among the different groups at pre-erosion and post-erosion intervals. However, after remineralisation, mean microhardness in different groups was significantly higher in Group II as compared to all the other groups (p < 0.001). Group IV had significantly lower mean microhardness as compared to all the other groups (p < 0.001).

The collected data were statistically analysed using ANOVA test followed by Tukey's HSD test as the post-hoc tests to compare the differences in mean microhardness at different time intervals. Paired t test was used to assess the change in mean microhardness within a group.

CPP-ACPF showed the best remineralisation potential.