Remineralization effects of extracts of Galla chinensis on demineralized enamel

Objective:To evaluate the effect of chemical compounds extracted from Galla Chinensis on the remineralization of initial enamel carious lesions in vitro. Methods: Fifty bovine enamel blocks with early lesions were prepared and randomly divided into five treatment groups:group1(4g/L GCE);group2(4g/L GCE-B); group3 (4g/L GCE-B1); group4 (4g/L GCE-B2) and control group (deionized water). Defferent treatment groups were submitted to pH-cycling. Surface enamel microhardness was determined on the dental blocks before and after demineralization, and after the pH-cycling regimen. The percentage of surface microhardness recovery (%SMHR) was calculated. The enamel specimens were then sectioned (≈100 µm) and examined by polarized light microscopy. Results: Obvious increase of the surface hardness of the enamel were observed in all the treatments except GCE-B2 and deionized water(P < 0.05).In the morphology of artificial caries, group1,2,3 showed the following change: The thickness and the density of the surface - layer increased obviously. And the negative birefringent reminiralized straps appeared on the caries lesion body, the depth of the caries lesion became obviously lighter. Conclusion: These results showed that a chemical compounds extracted from Galla Chinensis（ GCE ,GCE-B,GCE-B1）can obviously promote the remineralization of the early enamel carious lesions, so they appear to be a promising source of new agents that may prevent dental caries. Support for this study is provided from Chinese Natural Science Grant (Grant No.30430800)