Human Enamel Fluorination Enhancement by Photodynamic Laser Treatment

Abstract

Poor oral hygiene leads to serious damages of theteeth’s surface enamel such as micro-abrasions and acid erosion. These alterations combined with bacterial plaque result in cavity appearance. Prophylactic measures include various techniques for enamel surface restoration. Fluorination is one of the most important treatments for this purpose. Therefore, in the present research, we investigated the classical fluorination treatment compared with laser photodynamic fluorination performed on human enamel samples with poor surface quality. Three sample groups were investigated: veneer (F), inlay (I), and crowns (C). The general morphologic aspect was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the specific details such as the fine microstructure and nanostructure were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) of the surface roughness. The samples were also investigated by Fourier transformed infrared attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) to evidence the fluorination effect on the enamel surface. Results showed that all initial samples had an altered state with micro-abrasions and erosion with mineral loss, which increase the surface roughness. The F group was the most damaged, having a higher roughness, and the I group was less damaged. Classic fluorination treatment partially restored the enamel by local re-mineralization, but did not obtain the parameters of healthy enamel. However, a significant decrease of the roughness was observed (statistical relevance p = 0.001 with the Breusch–Pagan Test). This fact was supported by the presence of newly formed fluorides in the FTIR-ATR spectra. The photodynamic laser fluorination restores the enamel in an enhanced manner by a strong re-mineralization, which implies a significant roughness value decrease comparable to healthy enamel. The Breusch–Pagan Test confirmed the relevance with p = 0.001. This is due to an extended re-mineralization abundant in fluoride crystals as observed by AFM and FTIR. Statistical p-values regarding laser application were in the range of 0.02–0.06, supporting its relevance in the fluorination effect. The final conclusion is that the photodynamic effect is able to favor the newly formed fluoride deposition onto the affected sites of the enamel surface.

Effects of Acidic Environments on Dental Structures after Bracket Debonding

“…The cantilever resonant frequency was 330 kHz, and the spring constant was 48 N/m. In accordance with data in the literature [ 20 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ], the topographic images scanned and recorded were as follows: a 5 µm × 5 µm area for the fine microstructure of enamel and a 1 µm × 1 µm area for the enamel nanostructure. Three separate macroscopic areas were scanned for each sample.…”

Development and Characterization of Polylactic Acid (PLA)-Based Nanocomposites Used for Food Packaging

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Developing Bioactive Hydrogels with Peptides for Dental Application

“…Dental caries represents a major public health issue. Enamel lesions are revealed as gradual subsurface demineralization that can lead to cavitation if not reversed [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. A consensus states that the management of carious lesions should be “to preserve the tooth structure and restore only when necessary” [ 2 , 4 ].…”

“…The non-intrusive, biomimetic early dental caries therapy is a promising and achievable goal, due to the recent advances in enamel remineralisation. Remineralisation systems can help regenerate the enamel microstructure, which can prevent the progression of decay and fully restore the strength and function of the tooth structures [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 9 , 10 ].…”

“…Current remineralisation systems are either based on the enamel amelogenin-like proteins (e.g., leucine-rich amelogenin peptides, amelogenin derivatives), dentine phosphoprotein (DPP), or on synthetic peptides that are similar to salivary proteins (e.g., P11-4) [ 1 , 10 ].…”