IADR Abstract Archives
Caries Prevention by Toothpaste Containing Natural Hydroxyapatite: a Microbial Study
Objectives: Use of non-fluoride toothpaste is gaining much attention, and hydroxyapatite (HAP) is one of the most favored alternatives to fluoride. This in vitro study investigated the efficacy, in preventing tooth surface demineralization, of natural Hydroxyapatite (natHAP) in Happy™ tooth powder and Happy™ toothpaste (Natural Tooth Health LLC), and those of other marketed synthetic HAP toothpaste and fluoride toothpaste.
Methods: 140 sound bovine enamel blocks were assigned to 7 treatment groups (20/group); natHAP tooth powder, natHAP-low toothpaste, natHAP-high toothpaste, natHAP-UG toothpaste, synthetic nanosize HAP (nanoHAP), Fluoride toothpaste (NaF), and untreated control (control). All blocks were treated with whole human saliva for 60 minutes to develop acquired salivary pellicle, after which the blocks were subjected to 5-day demineralization for initial caries development in a Microbial Caries Model (MCM) using Todd Hewitt’s broth growth media (THB) inoculated with Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli acidophilus with daily regimen of two 2-minute toothpaste slurry treatments, three 6-minute 10% sucrose treatment, and in THB for the rest of the day. Surface microhardness (SMH) of each block was measured before and after treatment as a measure of the amount of demineralization. Data were analyzed by paired t-test for intra-group comparison and Tukey’s HSD for inter-group multiple comparison.
Results: There was a significant (p<0.05) demineralization in all groups, however, percentage demineralization (%Dem) was significantly lower (p<0.001) in natHAP formulations than in untreated control. Standard 1100 ppm fluoride toothpaste (62.54±4.88%) did not differ significantly from the control (69.81±5.82%). There were no statistically significant differences in %Dem among the natHAP formulations or between the natural and synthetic HAP formulations
Conclusions: Toothpastes based on HAP are more efficacious than standard fluoride toothpaste in preventing caries in high caries risk situation. Natural and synthetic hydroxyapatite are equally effective in preventing caries.
Methods: 140 sound bovine enamel blocks were assigned to 7 treatment groups (20/group); natHAP tooth powder, natHAP-low toothpaste, natHAP-high toothpaste, natHAP-UG toothpaste, synthetic nanosize HAP (nanoHAP), Fluoride toothpaste (NaF), and untreated control (control). All blocks were treated with whole human saliva for 60 minutes to develop acquired salivary pellicle, after which the blocks were subjected to 5-day demineralization for initial caries development in a Microbial Caries Model (MCM) using Todd Hewitt’s broth growth media (THB) inoculated with Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli acidophilus with daily regimen of two 2-minute toothpaste slurry treatments, three 6-minute 10% sucrose treatment, and in THB for the rest of the day. Surface microhardness (SMH) of each block was measured before and after treatment as a measure of the amount of demineralization. Data were analyzed by paired t-test for intra-group comparison and Tukey’s HSD for inter-group multiple comparison.
Results: There was a significant (p<0.05) demineralization in all groups, however, percentage demineralization (%Dem) was significantly lower (p<0.001) in natHAP formulations than in untreated control. Standard 1100 ppm fluoride toothpaste (62.54±4.88%) did not differ significantly from the control (69.81±5.82%). There were no statistically significant differences in %Dem among the natHAP formulations or between the natural and synthetic HAP formulations
Conclusions: Toothpastes based on HAP are more efficacious than standard fluoride toothpaste in preventing caries in high caries risk situation. Natural and synthetic hydroxyapatite are equally effective in preventing caries.