Rinsing solutions containing natural extracts and fluoride prevent enamel erosion in vitro

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Dental Research
• Natural Product Chemistry

Background:

• Polyphenols interact with salivary proteins, enhancing the enamel pellicle's resistance to erosion.
• This interaction presents an opportunity to develop polyphenol-based mouth rinses for erosion prevention.
• These rinses offer an alternative to stannous ion-based products, appealing to consumers preferring natural or bio-products.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an erosion-preventive mouth rinse formulated with natural polyphenol-rich extracts.
• To assess the efficacy of these polyphenol rinses in protecting dental enamel against erosive challenges.

Main Methods:

• Mouth rinse solutions were prepared using grapeseed or cranberry polyphenol extracts, combined with 500 ppm fluoride.
• Enamel specimens underwent cycles of pellicle formation, solution modification, and erosive challenges (1% citric acid).
• Evaluated parameters included relative surface microhardness (rSMH), surface reflection intensity (rSRI), and calcium release (CaR).

Main Results:

• Polyphenol-fluoride rinses demonstrated superior enamel protection compared to fluoride alone, based on rSMH and CaR.
• The protective effect of polyphenol-fluoride rinses was comparable to the gold standard stannous fluoride (Sn2+/F-) rinse for rSMH and CaR.
• While Sn2+/F- offered the highest rSRI protection, polyphenol solutions showed similar results to fluoride alone for this parameter.

Conclusions:

• Developed polyphenol-rich mouth rinses effectively protect enamel from erosion, outperforming fluoride alone.
• These novel rinses enhance fluoride's protective effects and match the efficacy of the current gold standard (Sn2+/F-) for key erosion markers.
• Polyphenol-based rinses represent a promising alternative for dental erosion prevention, particularly for consumers seeking natural ingredients.