Three-Dimensional Surface Texture Analysis of Fluoride’s Effect on Enamel Erosion

Abstract

Enamel erosion has become a common clinical finding that often impairs dental esthetics and function. In the current study, we aimed to implement the three-dimensional surface texture analysis (3DST) method to explore the protective effect of fluoride on surface texture prior to erosive conditions. For each of the 50 teeth used in this study, the polished buccal enamel surface was divided into three separate areas: the first area was untouched polished enamel, the two other surfaces were immersed in 0.3% citric acid for 30 s. One was treated with high-concentration (19,000 ppm) sodium fluoride (NaF) solution prior to acid attack, and the other had no treatment prior to acid exposure. Enamel surface texture and step height measurements were obtained using a high-resolution disk scanning confocal microscope, and SEM images were also acquired. Surfaces treated with fluoride showed fewer variations in 3-D surface texture parameters than the eroded surface compared to the control group (p = 0.001). This was in accordance with the SEM descriptive images. The findings indicate that pre-fluoridated enamel areas were less affected by the acid and showed similar features to the untouched enamel. Moreover, a protective effect of the fluoride treatment against irreversible enamel damage was noted as the surface loss (step-height) was significantly reduced (p = 0.03). The study showed that 3DST analysis is a valuable methodology for detecting and quantifying subtle differences between the surfaces. When exploring the combination of all surface texture parameters, it was revealed that the pre-fluoridated eroded enamel surfaces showed considerable similarity to the untouched enamel.

In vitro study on the preventive effect of children’s toothpastes on erosive tooth wear of primary bovine enamel and dentin

“…Erosive tooth wear was analysed by widefield confocal microscopy. Confocal scanning microscopy is increasingly used in the last decade to analyse surface texture parameters and quantify surface loss with a high sensitivity 32 , 33 .…”

Genotoxicity in the oral cells of older people from a Brazilian rural area: a population-based study

“…This experimental approach was not possible in this study, as we aimed to study the natural fluorotic surfaces, which did not allow for any processing of the enamel surfaces. [23][24][25] It is possible that different results could have been found if fluorosis severity levels higher than those studied (TF > 4) were to be considered. This was not done in this study, as our main focus was on non-cavitated enamel surfaces.…”

“…Citric acid was chosen as it is commonly found in fruit juice drinks and most carbonated beverages and is generally accepted as the standard acid in several models for the simulation of dental erosion. 18,23,24 While caries lesion formation involves a slow diffusion of dissolved minerals that combine with a liquid phase partially saturated with regard to tooth mineral, frequently creating conditions for remineralization in response to demineralization events, 25 the transport of ions dissolved by demineralization is much faster in dental erosion, 26 so that mineral loss involves more intensively the enamel subsurface in caries and is more concentrated at the enamel surface in erosion. It has been shown that the higher contrast in fluoride content between normal and fluorotic enamel is found at the enamel subsurface, 3 which would favor a higher impact of fluorosis on caries (subsurface phenomenon) than in dental erosion (surface phenomenon).…”

Wear behavior of ceramic, composite, and ceramic/composite interfaces

“…The cavity volume and diameter are not taken into account in this measurement because it only takes the height parameters into account. Consequently, it can be claimed that the texture of the surface cannot be properly described by using only one value to explore the surface topography [24]. In our study, Rz was also measured to evaluate deep scratches along with Sa and Ra.…”