The protective effect of topical fluoride treatments in dentine lesions

Non restorative cavity control (NRCC) is a non to minimally invasive dental approach in dentine caries management which can be applied to cavitated dentine lesions in the primary and permanent dentition. This approach could be supported by topical fluoride applications to enhance caries arrestment. Caries arrestment is a clinical sign of the success of the NRCC approach. The overall aim of this thesis was to understand more closely the chemical and histological (microradiographic) aspects of this fluoride induced arrestment. Therefore, this thesis has investigated these aspects in dentine lesions after treatment with various topically applied fluoride products (SDF, NaF, TiF₄ and SnF₂), and to examine which product performs best in dentine caries arrestment in an in vitro de- and remineralization model. The current finding showed that all fluoride products used in the current thesis were effective in inhibiting demineralization or enhancing remineralization, depending on the formulas and concentration of the product. SDF, however, was the most effective product in dentine caries management. Therefore, it was of interest to compare the effect of equal fluoride concentrations as either SDF or KF on dentine lesions to examine whether the superior effect of the SDF is due to both the fluoride and silver components, or only to the high fluoride concentration. The results suggest that the effect depended on the high fluoride concentration. In conclusion, the chemical and histological results of these products confirmed the superiority of the SDF treatment in inhibiting dentine demineralization and enhancing dentine remineralization during the pH-cycling.