comparison of the remineralizing effects of sodium fluoride and bioactive glass using bioerodible gel systems

background and aims. a carious lesion is the accumulation of numerous episodes of de- and remineralization, rather than a unidirectional demineralization process. tooth destruction can be arrested or reversed by the frequent delivery of fluoride or calcium/phosphorous ions to the tooth surface. the present study compared and evaluated the remineralization potential of sodium fluoride and bioactive glass delivered through a bioerodible gel system. materials and methods. longitudinal sections of artificial carious lesions, created at the gingivofacial surface of 64 primary maxillary incisors were photographed under a polarized light microscope and quantified for demineralization. the sections were repositioned into the tooth form and randomly mounted in sets of four that simulated an arch form. the teeth were divided into 4 groups: 1) sodium fluoride films, 2) bioactive glass films, 3) control films placed interproximally and 4) non-treatment group. following exposure to artificial saliva for 30 days, the lesions were again photographed and quantified as above. the recorded values were statistically analyzed using student’s paired t-test for intragroup comparison, one-way anova and post-hoc tukey’s test for pairwise comparison. results. the sodium fluoride and bioactive gel groups showed significant remineralization compared with the control groups (p < 0.001). conclusion. bioerodible gel films can be used to deliver remineralizing agents to enhance remineralization.