Abstract
This in vitro work reports upon the design, build and operation of an artificial environment (Saltus) that sought to simulate the process of in vivo dental erosion upon human enamel. A novel testing environment, housed 8 erosion testing substrate specimens, that on separate occasions were subject to 4 different experimental diets, of increasing erosive challenge, simulating the consumption of an acidic beverage. Each set of specimens was subjected to one of the experimental diets only. These were liquid only and administered the test beverage over a standardized range of volumes and durations. Flow of both artificial unstimulated and stimulated saliva was maintained throughout and the effects upon the substrates were measured by profilometry, surface microhardness determination and chemical analysis of the saliva and beverage mixture for traces of Calcium and Phosphate ions. The overall trend of surface hardness reduction, depth of surface loss and ion loss across the diets increased in proportion to the severity of insult. Accepting the limitations of this study Saltus appeared to perform well as an environment in which to simulate and assess dental erosion using parameters defined by previous in vivo observations of human drinking behaviour. The authors however acknowledge that in vitro testing can never replicate fully the in vivo situation.
Highlights
A contemporary definition of dental erosion, based upon current perceptions, knowledge and concepts, defines erosive dental wear as a chemical mechanical phenomenon where loss of tooth structure occurs from both acidic attack and mechanical forces (Lussi & Carvalho, 2014)
The purpose of this work was to report upon the design, build and operation of an environment that sought to simulate in vitro the process of in vivo dental erosion upon human dental enamel
Before considering the findings revealed by the pre and post exposure measurements of the erosion substrate it is important to appreciate the performance of Saltus and the measurement techniques employed in the study
Summary
A contemporary definition of dental erosion, based upon current perceptions, knowledge and concepts, defines erosive dental wear as a chemical mechanical phenomenon where loss of tooth structure occurs from both acidic attack and mechanical forces (Lussi & Carvalho, 2014) This differentiates it from dental caries where the acid responsible is produced by the fermentation of carbohydrates by microorganisms that reside in dental plaque attached to the surface of the tooth. Whereas it would be desirable to assess the erosive potential of a food/beverage in vivo current validated methods are unable to do this readily Speaking, such a procedure would require studies of long duration and would always have the challenge of controlling exposure of the tooth and preventing other factors from affecting the tooth's' surface, such as, for example, other
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