An In-Vitro Comparative Study of Fluoride Varnish and Two Calcium-Containing Fluoride Products on the Remineralization of Primary Teeth Enamel

Objectives: To compare the effectiveness of fluoride varnish and two calcium-based fluoride products on the remineralization of primary teeth enamel. Materials and Methods: Surface-microhardness (SMH) of 36 extracted anterior primary teeth was measured by Vickers test (50gr/5 seconds) to provide a baseline for later comparisons. All teeth were immersed in demineralizing solution for 96 hours to create caries-like lesions and SMH was determined for the artificially-induced caries. The teeth were randomly assigned to three groups consisting of 5% fluoride varnish once daily/10 seconds, Clinpro™ 5000 toothpaste once daily/2 minutes, and Remin Pro cream once daily/3 minutes for 28 days. All specimens were kept in artificial saliva with pH cycling during the study period. After remineralization, SMH was evaluated for the last time. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA, Mauchly's sphericity, and RM-ANOVA with Bonferroni correction for inter-and- intra-group comparisons at the three stages of the study. Results: Neither the baseline SMH nor the SMH of the artificially created caries showed significant differences among the samples (P>0.05). The post-treatment SMH was highest in the Clinpro group (296.4±73.1kgf/mm(2)), followed by Remin Pro (283.8±119.3kgf/mm(2)), and varnish (270.9±78.3 kgf/mm(2)). There was no significant difference among the groups after treatment (P>0.05). We also did not observe a significant difference among the three different study stages (P>0.05). Conclusion: Within the limitations of this in-vitro study, daily application of low fluoride-calcium compound seems to be as effective as the professional use of fluoride varnish or high-content fluoride toothpaste in remineralizing initial caries of primary teeth.