Evidence that demands a verdict: latest developments in remineralization therapies

March/April 2009 In the last decade, there has been a veritable explosion of interest in technologies which may have value for remineralization of enamel and dentine. The purpose of this article is to lay the foundations for understanding the process of remineralization and from this, to then examine the bona fides of current products and therapies in this domain. The purpose is not to provide a detailed scientific critique of remineralization systems, as has been done in other recent publications,1 but rather to demystify some of the current technologies and to flag some of the issues when assessing this fruit salad of apples, oranges and pears. The characteristics of an ideal remineralizing agent are summarized in Table 1, which provides a backdrop against which to contrast the available materials and technologies.