Objectives: The present study evaluated the effects of various calcium and phosphate concentrations and ratios of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)-based solutions on the mineral loss of predemineralised bovine enamel in vitro.
Methods: Bovine enamel specimens were prepared, polished and partly covered with nail varnish, thus serving as control of sound enamel. After demineralisation (37 degrees C; pH 5.0; 14 days) the specimens were exposed to CMC-based solutions (20g/l) with various saturations with respect to apatites containing 0.1mM NaF, CaCl2 (0-32 mM) and KH2PO4 (0-52 mM) at two different pH values (5.5 or 6.5). A fluoride-free solution served as control, and four commercially available products were tested as well. The differences in mineral loss (DeltaDeltaZ) between the values prior to (DeltaZ Demin) and after storage (DeltaZ Effect) in the various solutions were evaluated from microradiographs of thin sections (100microm).
Results: The general linear model revealed a significant dependency for DeltaDeltaZ on 'calcium' (p<0.001), 'phosphate' (p=0.023), 'fluoride' (p=0.002) and 'pH' (p<0.001). With increasing calcium and phosphate concentrations an increase in DeltaDeltaZ could be observed up to the solution containing the third highest saturation with respect to octacalciumphosphate (3.2), showing a significant remineralisation (p<0.05; t-test). The commercially available products as well as the control groups revealed significantly reduced DeltaDeltaZ values compared to this group (p<0.01; Bonferroni).
Conclusions: A saturation with respect to octacalciumphosphate of 3.2 and a pH of 6.5 enables CMC-based solutions to remineralise bovine enamel in vitro.