MFP versus stannous fluoride mouthrinses for prevention of decalcification in orthodontic patients.

Twenty-two orthodontic patients in the eleven to fifteen-year age-group participated in a one-year fluoride rinsing program. A 0.1 percent SnF2 solution was compared to a MFP solution containing an equivalent amount of fluoride. A laboratory study evaluated the enamel solubility reducing capacities of the two solutions. Enamel solubility reduction by a two-minute treatment with 0.1 percent SnF2 was 77.8 percent; that for MFP solution was only 13.1 percent. Rinsing daily with SnF2 prevented decalcification completely in twelve patients; two of ten patients rinsing with MFP developed new decalcification during orthodontic treatment. Thus, SnF2 was more effective than MFP in both the laboratory and clinical phases of the study. These results support the requirement for frequent applications, if patients are at advanced risk, and suggest that the method of treatment is at least as important as the choice of specific fluoride.

Presweetened dry breakfast cereals: potential for dental danger.

Sugar concentrations were measured by enzymatic methods in twenty-eight presweetened breakfast cereals. Means for the various sugars were in essential agreement with recently published gas-liquid chromatography results and also with the sugar values expressed on the labels of these cereals. Thus, accurate and reproducible analytical methods are available for sugar measurements in foods; sugar levels in foods can now be assessed with confidence and the information disseminated to interested food purchasers. Oral retention time, as measured by salivary sucrose determinations, was prolonged after ingestion of these cereals directly from the box; oral clearance was more rapid, when the same subject drank a sugar solution of the same concentration. Presweetened cereals are candidates for frequent ingestion as snacks, due to their candy-like taste. This fact plus the high sugar levels in these cereals and the tendency to prolonged intraoral retention, automatically classifies these materials as potential dental hazards, when used as snacks. It is not implied that this is the case, when these products are eaten at mealtime with milk.

Comparison of orthodontic cements containing sodium fluoride or stannous fluoride.

A laboratory study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of NaF and SnF2, when incorporated into zinc oxyphosphate cement, in reducing the solubility and increasing the microhardness of human enamel. The control cement contained no added fluoride, and the test cements were prepared to contain fluoride concentrations of either 1,000, 2,000, or 4,000 ppm from each of the two test fluorides. SnF2-containing cement provided significantly (P < .01) greater solubility reduction at all three concentrations than did NaF cement. SnF2 was also more effective than NaF in rehardening enamel surfaces. SnF2 is thus much more effective than NaF when added to orthodontic cement. Current topical treatment literature, both laboratory and clinical, is in accord with this conclusion.

Ice cream: potential dental hazard?

Ice cream, when eaten frequently between meals, is a potential dental hazard. A significant accomplishment in dental prevention would be the decreased use of ice cream as a between meal snack and its increased use. if so desired, as a mealtime dessert. It is the frequent exposure of children to sticky, high-sugar material between meals that is primarily responsible for the deplorable state of dental health in the United States.