In-situ Biomimetic Re-mineralization Research Of Enamel

Caries is quite a common and frequently-occurring disease among human beings resulting from enamel demineralization, and it turns to cavity at last. The curing of early caries can avoid traditional dental operation and reduce damage to dental tooth. Re-mineralization is one of the important methods of curing early caries, so the research of the re-mineralization of enamel under physiological conditions is of great significance. An in-situ re-mineralization approach was applied on acid-etched enamel surface as an early caries model. The model surface was modified by-SO3- function group and the re-mineralization experiments were carried out in simulated body fluid (SBF) and artificial saliva. The effect of the active group -SO3-, the kinds of biomimetic solution and F- on the composition and morphology of the re-mineralized crystals was studied. The modified enamel surface was characterized by FT-IR and contact angle. The composition and morphology of the obtained crystals were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, SAED and EDS. The result revealed that:(1) The active group-SO3- induced the re-mineralization of enamel effectively, especially in artificial saliva and 1.5SBF with high concentration of Ca2+ and PO43-;(2) The F- improved the crystalline degree of the re-mineralized hydroxyapatie (HAP) crystals remarkably, and induced the formation of fluoridated hydroxyapatie (FHA);(3) In the artificial saliva with different pH, the chemical components and morphology of re-mineralized crystals depended on pH, while the hexagonal rod HAP was obtained in the artificial saliva with a low pH, which was similar to natural enamel.This study laid the groundwork for the regenerative restoration of early caries.