Stannous Fluoride Effects on Enamel: A Systematic Review
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 10, 2025

Micro-dissection of Enamel Organ from Mandibular Incisor of Rats Exposed to Environmental Toxicants
Published on: March 29, 2018
Luca Fiorillo1,2, Gabriele Cervino1, Alan Scott Herford3
1Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences, Morphological and Functional Images, University of Messina, Policlinico G. Martino, Via Consolare Valeria, 98100 Messina, Italy.
Abstract:
In recent years there has been a lot of talk about toothpastes with a particular chemical compound: stannous fluoride (SnF2). Its presence is currently still highly controversial, as the latter could have negative health effects. The different companies that produce toothpastes express its dosage in ppm. The purpose of this systematic literature review is to analyze all randomized clinical trials in the literature over the last 10 years and to draw clear results on the function of stannous fluoride, for this purpose the authors performed a Mann-Whitney U Test.
Materials:
The first analysis of the literature produced a number greater than 800 results, subsequently applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and following a manual analysis of the results, 26 manuscripts have been obtained.
Results:
From the results analyzed in this review, it could be shown that stannous fluoride does not present important contraindications, if not those commonly reported for fluorine. A meta-analysis on enamel loss has been conducted, it shows that SnF2 products provide better results with a p < 0.05 value.
Conclusion:
This compound could have significant effects in favor of erosion and recalcification of the enamel, on the biofilm formation, gingival inflammation, and in addition, it could be an important aid in the removal of tooth stains and halitosis.
Related Concept Videos
Essential Minerals for Bone Health
Calcium and Phosphorus
Calcium is a critical component of bones, especially in the form of calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate. Since the body cannot make calcium, it must be obtained from the diet. However, calcium cannot be absorbed from the small intestine without...
Tooth Anatomy
The Crown, Neck, and Root
The visible part of the tooth is referred to as the crown. It's covered by enamel, the hardest substance in the human body. The crown is uniquely shaped for each type of tooth, allowing for different functions such as cutting, tearing, or...
Minerals
Major...
Effects of EDTA on End-Point Detection Methods
In the visual method, metal-ion indicators (metallochromic dyes), which have distinct colors in their free and complex forms, are added to the mixture to signal the titration's end point. They form stable complexes with metal ions, but these complexes are weaker than the corresponding metal–EDTA complexes. As a...

