Evaluation of the remineralising capacities of modified saliva substitutes in vitro

Objective s in vitro study the effects of various calcium and phosphate additions to a commercially available saliva substitute on remineralisation of demineralised dentin were investigated. dentin specimens (n = 70) were prepared. Before and after demineralisation (37 °C, pH 5.0, 5 days), one-quarter of each specimens surface was covered with nail varnish (control sound/demineralised tissue). Specimens were exposed either to original Saliva natura (SN 0) or to three modified versions (SN 1, SN 2 and SN 3) formulated with different degrees of saturation with respect to octacalciumphosphate (OCP) and dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD) for 2 and 5 weeks (37 °C). An aqueous solution (Buskes remineralising solution) served as positive control (PC). Differences in mineral loss (deltadeltaZ) and lesion depth (deltaLD) before and after storage were evaluated from microradiographs. s both storage periods dentin specimens immersed in SN 0 revealed significantly higher mineral losses (indicated by deltadeltaZ) and higher lesion depths (indicated by deltaLD) compared to all other solutions (p < 0.05; ANOVA). Specimens stored in SN 1 and 3 showed significantly higher mineral losses compared with PC (p < 0.05). No differences could be observed between SN 2 and PC (p > 0.05). Only SN 2 significantly remineralised from 2 to 5 weeks storage (p < 0.05; t-test). sions erimental Saliva natura solution (SN 2) with SOCP = 2 and SDCPD = 1.4 showed highest remineralising capacity. Similar or better remineralisation could not be achieved with slightly higher or lower saturated solutions.