Tooth enamel remineralization

Abstract

In this paper a survey is given on tooth remineralization from remineralizing solutions and from saliva. The substrate, sound tooth enamel, is described from a chemical as well as from an ultrastructural point of view. Because saliva plays a crucial role in in vivo remineralizations, the most relevant properties of saliva, such as the thermodynamic stabilities with respect to calcium phosphates of interest, are considered. Tooth remineralization can be divided into three main types: lesion remineralization, surface softened remineralization and etched enamel remineralization. The main emphasis in this survey is given to lesion and surface softened remineralization which are the most important from a practical view point. In these two cases, the reaction order, the activation energy and the mechanism are discussed as well as the ultrastructure of remineralized material, the influence of various agents (especially F -)and differences between in vitro and in vivo data.