Cariostatic effect of various cheeses on the degree of mineralisation of enamel in situ

ABSTRACT

To investigate the effect of 9 cheeses with different compositions on the extent of demineralisation/ remineralisation of enamel slabs in situ. Sucrose and sorbitol solutions were used as controls. Ten subjects were required to wear removable appliances with human enamel slabs cut from white spot lesions created in vitro. The subjects were required to wear their appliances, for two days to allow plaque to grow. Over the following 5 days, they were asked to immerse their appliances 4 times per day for 10 minutes each time in a suspension of the test cheese or control solution. De- or remineralisation was then measured using a combination of microradiography and an image analysis system. The results for lesion depth [ micro m] tested by paired t-test revealed significant net remineralisation [p<0.05] with two types of cheeses. As for mineral loss or gain [vol.% micro m], significant net remineralisation was seen with 6 types of cheeses. Some cheeses can cause remineralisation of early lesions