Paints and Varnishes

Paints and Pigments

Paints have been manufactured since prehistoric times, but until recently they were highly expensive and thus were mainly used for artwork. It is only since the nineteenth century that houses have commonly been painted. Today paints are used for colouring and protecting many surfaces, including houses, cars, road markings and underground storage vessels. Each of these different applications req...

Paints and Coatings

Fluoride varnishes in caries prevention.

The first fluoride varnishes were developed during the 1960s (Duraphat) sodium fluoride varnish) and 1970s (Fluor Protector) silane fluoride varnish) to prolong the contact time between fluoride and enamel. Fluoride varnishes adhere to enamel, and calcium fluoride formed after application acts as a long-term reservoir of fluoride. Currently Duraphat varnish is the most widely used topical fluor...

How a painter paints

Drawing from the seminal definition of the principles of abstract art posed by Wassily Kandinsky in the early years of the twentieth century, and contextualizing that knowledge in contemporary cognitive metaphor theory (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999), the study attempts to arrive at an understanding of how cognitive structure emerges in pragmatic self-observation during the artistic process. Through a...

Fluoride varnishes: should we be using them?

Fluoride varnishes are fast becoming the standard of care as topical fluoride treatments. Fluoride varnishes still await approval from the FDA for use as caries preventive agents. In the meantime, their use for such purposes is considered "off-label." This article highlights the efficacy of fluoride varnishes as caries preventive agents and introduces some of the commercially available fluoride...