Comparison of solution- and gel-prepared enamel lesions--and in vitro pH-cycling study

A variety of methods has been employed to produce artificial caries-like enamel lesions. The aim of this paper was to use a pH-cycling regime to compare the de-/remineralization behavior of lesions prepared by two methods. Lesions were produced by use of either an acidified undialyzed gelatin system or a buffered solution. Enamel sections, each containing four lesions, were allocated to four groups (A, B, C, D) and subjected to a daily pH-cycling regime of 16-hour demineralization and eight-hour remineralization. Groups A & B contained gelatin-prepared lesions, whereas Groups C & D contained solution-prepared lesions. To the remineralizing solutions used in Groups B & D, 2 ppm fluoride was added. The mineral content in the lesions was assessed, by means of microradiography/microdensitometry, at baseline and at intervals for six weeks. The lesions in all four groups exhibited net demineralization. In terms of the total mineral lost from the lesion (the delta z parameter), the demineralization rates of the solution-prepared lesions were significantly greater than those of the corresponding gelatin-prepared lesions. All sections in the non-fluoride groups showed subsurface demineralization in initially sound enamel, whereas only one section in the fluoride groups showed an area of mineral loss. Laminations in the mineral content profiles were apparent only in Group D. The results of this study indicate that the method of lesion preparation affects the subsequent behavior of lesions when exposed to de- and remineralizing protocols.