Treatment for dental erosion: a systematic review of in vitro studies

Dental erosion is a chemical loss of the mineralized dental tissue caused by exposure to nonbacterial acids. Different treatment protocols have been adopted with the use of fluoride compounds to promote the formation of a layer of mineral precipitation in eroded lesions.

This systematic review aimed to evaluate the main treatments for dental erosion.

This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and recorded in the Open Science Framework database (OSF) under DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/XMFNZ. The searches were conducted in six electronic databases (Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, Scopus, Lilacs) and two grey literature sources (Google Scholar and OpenGrey). The eligibility criteria included in vitro studies that evaluated eroded teeth under treatment with some topical agent. Risk of bias assessment and qualitative synthesis were performed using the Cochrane collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias modified for in vitro studies.

A total of 522 studies were identified, and only four studies that fulfilled our eligibility criteria were included in this review. Among these studies, three were considered to have a low risk of bias, and one to have a high risk of bias. Two studies evaluated the anti-erosion effect of fluoride toothpaste, and the other two assessed the action of casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP) on the surface of human teeth. Among the products analyzed, CPP-ACP was the only one that promoted a significant increase in enamel microhardness and reduced tooth wear.

Based on the in vitro studies included in this review, there was no anti-erosion effect after using different fluoride toothpaste. However, it should be considered that one of these studies presented a high risk of bias. On the other hand, studies with CPP-ACP showed anti-erosion efficacy when applied before or after erosive wear.