The Effects of Various Ions on Enamel Solubility

Abstract

Several reports in the literature indicate that the solubility of enamel in acids can be changed by the action of various ions. Miller (1) using silver nitrate was unable to show retardation in enamel decalcification. The research work of Rickert (2) contradicted this and led him to believe that increased resistance to decalcification of silver nitrate-treated enamel was due to the clogging of tooth substance with reduced silver which prevented the penetration of acids. Hill and Arnold (3) studied the effects of silver nitrate on powdered enamel and found that after treatment, the solubility of enamel was significantly reduced. Difference in enamel solubility in acetate and maleate buffers was attributed by Benedict and Kanthak (4) to the formation of calcium maleate which acted as a protective coating over the enamel particles. Volker (5) and Bibby (6) investigated the effect of fluorides on enamel and concluded that the fluorine ion produced marked reduction in solubility. Because little or no consideration has been given to the effects of other ions on the solubility of enamel, it seemed to us worthwhile to investigate the matter. The choice of the ions used in the experiments was determined by a consideration of the mechanisms whereby the phenomenon of reduced solubility might occur. In order to better understand these, an examination of the chemical nature of enamel is necessary. This will be limited to facts relevant to the adequate understanding of certain assumptions which are made in this paper. Tooth enamel is a crystalline substance showing a characteristic x-ray diffraction pattern. Moreover, this pattern is practically identical with that given by bone, dentin and certain synthetic or natural inorganic materials, such as fluorapatite. On the basis of these x-ray findings these substances have been included in the general class of apatites. It should be remembered that this apatite classification refers only to a particular atomic pattern or arrangement in the crystal lattice and not to any constancy of chemical composition. For instance, McConnell (7, 8) has pointed out that a large number of substitutions are possible in the general apatite pattern. If X10(ZO4)6. (F20H2C12) represents the general formula for the apatites, then X may be calcium, lead, manganese, potassium, strontium and cesium or in lesser amounts yttrium, lanthanum, titanium, iron, aluminum and magnesium; Z may be chromium, phosphorous, arsenic, vanadium, silicon, and carbon. Further evidence of the complex and variable nature of the apatites is obtained from the work of Eisenberger, Lehrman and Turner (9). In their critical review of the literature on the system