Lessening dental erosive potential by product modification

Current interest in dental erosion has led to increasing attention to ways in which potentially erosive products might be modified. Information on how this could be achieved has been hard to gather, and has focused chiefly on possibilities in reformulating soft drinks. The bulk of the work published on this relates to calcium and phosphate supplementation, ranging from early experimentation on saturation of a demineralising medium with tricalcium phosphate, through tests of more soluble phosphates and other calcium salts providing various levels of Ca2+ and PO4(3-), to a calcium citrate malate additive specially formulated to curb erosion by soft drinks. Opinions on the effectiveness of citrate, the practicability of reducing the acidity levels of soft drinks, and the possible applications of fluoride, bicarbonates and certain constituents of milk products are also included. Finally, an attempt has been made to summarize some of the advantages and shortcomings of the different methods, but it is clear that much further work will be needed before firm guidelines on the best routes to product improvement can be laid down.