The Effects of Casein-Phosphopeptide-Amorphous-Calcium-Phosphate Paste on Plaque Calcium and Phosphate

Calcium and phosphate are important in caries remineralization. Therefore, calcium-phosphate containing agent may be an alternative for caries prevention in children at risk. This study aimed to investigate the retention of 10% CPP-ACP commercial paste on plaque calcium and inorganic phosphate levels after daily application of CPP-ACP paste for 7 and 14 days.

Methods:

Twenty-one healthy children with age range of 8-10 years old were included. All subjects were asked to avoid high calcium and phosphate diet except their regular milk. Prior to plaque collection, the subjects were asked to refrain from oral hygiene care for 24 hours and to fast overnight. Supragingival plaques from all teeth except for lower anterior teeth were collected by a universal curette in the morning of day 0 as baseline. Then, the subject were asked to apply 10% CPP-ACP containing paste (GC Tooth MousseTM Vanilla flavour, GC Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) once a day before bedtime for 14 consecutive days. The plaque was again collected in the morning of day 7 and day 14 after that calcium and inorganic phosphate levels in the plaque samples were examined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and colorimetric spectrophotometry, respectively. Data was analyzed using Repeated Measures ANOVA and LSD test (á =.05).

Results:

Mean plaque calcium significantly raised from 133.14±37.82 nmol/mg dry weight at baseline to 203.09±52.76 and 238.83±50.19 nmol/mg dry weight at day 7 and 14 respectively (p<.001). The inorganic phosphate level was significantly higher from 306.70±80.70 nmol/mg dry weight to 389.32±99.98 at day 7 (p=.003) and to 393.73±118.86 at day 14 (p=.002).

Conclusion:

Daily application of CPP-ACP paste for 7 – 14 days can increase plaque calcium and inorganic phosphate levels in a time-dependent manner. This support daily use of CPP-ACP paste and further study on retention period is required.