Mineralization of Early Stage Carious Lesions In Vitro—A Quantitative Approach

Abstract

Micro computed tomography has been combined with dedicated data analysis for the in vitro quantification of sub-surface enamel lesion mineralization. Two artificial white spot lesions, generated on a human molar crown in vitro, were examined. One lesion was treated with a self-assembling peptide intended to trigger nucleation of hydroxyapatite crystals. We non-destructively determined the local X-ray attenuation within the specimens before and after treatment. The three-dimensional data was rigidly registered. Three interpolation methods, i.e., nearest neighbor, tri-linear, and tri-cubic interpolation were evaluated. The mineralization of the affected regions was quantified via joint histogram analysis, i.e., a voxel-by-voxel comparison of the tomography data before and after mineralization. After ten days incubation, the mean mineralization coefficient reached 35.5% for the peptide-treated specimen compared to 11.5% for the control. This pilot study does not give any evidence for the efficacy of peptide treatment nor allows estimating the necessary number of specimens to achieve significance, but shows a sound methodological approach on the basis of the joint histogram analysis.

Clinical performance of self‐assembling peptide P11‐4 in the treatment of initial proximal carious lesions: A practice‐based case series

“…In contrast, regression with regard to caries classification to at least the previous, preceding class was observed in four of 28 lesions, indicating complete remineralization at the inner part of the carious lesion. These results are in line with in vitro data showing remineralization throughout the lesion …”

“…The surface of the P 11 ‐4 fibers promote the natural remineralization mechanism driven by saliva, as the suitable surface area for calcium phosphate deposition is increased . This results in mineralization of the subsurface lesion, most likely due to de novo hydroxyapatite crystals formed on the surface of the P 11 ‐4 fibres …”

Assessment of self-assembling peptide P 11-4 in the treatment of white spot lesions after orthodontic treatment

“…Therefore in this study we focused on remineralization of these lesions. (19) There is a clear demonstration in the literature that fixed orthodontic appliances increase plaque accumulation, bacterial colonization, and resultant enamel decalcification (20) The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of commercially available Curodont on WSLs after orthodontic treatment.…”

Mass Density Measurement of Mineralized Tissue with Grating-Based X-Ray Phase Tomography

“…to examine differences between healthy and diseased parts of tooth [12–14]. Several methods, like backscattered electron microscopy [15], x-ray ptychography [16] and x-ray absorption microtomography [14] are used for measuring tooth density. However, some of them provide only two-dimensional information or the sample size is limited to a few micrometers or needs destructive sample preparation.…”

“…In this study, teeth samples were selected as an example for one of the most important mineralized biomaterials to demonstrate the potential and application of x-ray grating interferometry in order to discriminate mineralized tissue of different densities. We show that this method, based on phase contrast, allows measurements of the mineral content in three-dimensions on extended samples with an unprecedented spatial sensitivity and a resolution and sample size that allow in-vitro investigation of clinically relevant questions [14]. …”