An in vitro study on the influence of viscosity and frequency of application of fluoride/tin solutions on the progression of erosion of bovine enamel.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the influence of the viscosity and frequency of application of solutions containing fluoride (F) and stannous chloride (SnCl2) on enamel erosion prevention.

DESIGN

Bovine enamel specimens were randomly distributed into 12 groups (n = 10), according to the following study factors: solution (C: deionized water; F: 500 ppm F-; F + Sn: 500 ppm F- + 800 ppm Sn2+); viscosity (low and high); and frequency of application (once and twice a day). Specimens were submitted to an erosive cycling model, consisting of 5 min immersion in 0.3% citric acid, followed by 60 min exposure to a mineral solution. This procedure was repeated 4×/day, for 5 days. Treatment with the experimental solutions was performed for 2 min, 1×/day or 2×/day. Enamel surface loss (SL) was determined by optical profilometry. Data were analyzed by 3-way ANOVA and Tukey tests (α = 0.05).

RESULTS

There were significant differences between the levels of the factor solution (p < .001), viscosity (p < .001) and in the interaction between solution and viscosity (p = .01). Regarding solution, the mean SL ± standard deviation for the groups was F + Sn (4.90 ± 1.12) < F (7.89 ± 1.19) < C (14.20 ± 1.69). High viscosity solutions demonstrated less SL than low viscosity; however, only when applied once a day (p < .001). Applying the solutions twice a day yielded lower SL than once a day, but only for the low viscosity solutions (p = .003).

CONCLUSIONS

Under the conditions of this short-term in vitro experiment, it could be concluded that increasing the viscosity of the oral rinse solutions reduced enamel loss by erosion; however, this effect was small and only observed when the solutions were applied once a day.