Effects of LED curing light on silver diamine fluoride penetration into dentin

Area of Science:

• Dental materials science
• Caries management
• Biomaterials

Background:

• Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) is an effective agent for arresting dental caries.
• Optimizing SDF penetration depth is crucial for maximizing its therapeutic effect.
• The influence of adjunct light-curing on SDF penetration remains an area for investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effect of a light-emitting diode (LED) curing light on the penetration depth of Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) into artificial carious lesions in primary teeth.
• To compare the SDF penetration achieved with a short SDF application combined with LED light versus a longer SDF application without light.

Main Methods:

• An ex-vivo study utilizing 24 extracted primary teeth with untreated caries.
• Teeth were divided into groups receiving different treatments: SDF application (10 sec or 1 min) with or without subsequent LED light exposure (20 sec).
• Silver penetration depth was quantified using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.

Main Results:

• SDF application for 10 seconds followed by 20 seconds of LED light exposure resulted in significantly greater silver penetration (94.3 ± 13.7%) compared to 10 seconds of SDF application alone (26.7 ± 13.9%).
• The penetration depth with 10 seconds SDF plus LED light was comparable to that achieved with 1 minute of SDF application without light (86.4 ± 20.7%).
• Control groups without SDF treatment showed no silver presence.

Conclusions:

• Applying LED light for 20 seconds after a 10-second SDF application significantly enhances silver penetration into carious lesions.
• This adjunct light application method shows comparable efficacy to a 1-minute SDF application in terms of silver penetration.
• Further clinical investigations are warranted to determine the clinical significance of enhanced silver penetration for sustained caries arrest.