title: The effects of the solubility of artificial fissures on plaque pH.
abstract: Dissolution of the fissure walls may buffer acids formed in plaque and thus prevent the penetration of acids into the fissure. To test this, five volunteers wore dentin, enamel, and polyacrylate specimens with narrow grooves for 7 days to accumulate plaque. Temporal (pre- and post-glucose) and spatial (0-0.7 mm) pH profiles were recorded in the grooves in a flow-through reactor with pH microsensors. Mineral loss was assessed by transverse microradiography. We observed that resting pH did not differ among substrata. The median pH 1 hr post-glucose at the bottoms of dentin, enamel, and polyacrylate grooves was 6.7, 6.2, and 5.7, respectively (p < 0.01). On subject level, lesions formed in dentin correlated with pH changes in polyacrylate, where no buffering of acids due to mineral dissolution occurred. We conclude that fluoride-deficient tissue at the bottom of a fissure is at increased risk for caries, if acids are not buffered near the entrance to the fissure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cariology, Endodontology, Pedodontology, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), Louwesweg 1, NL-1066 EA Amsterdam, The Netherlands. e.zaura@acta.nl
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zaura
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Buijs
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: ten Cate
mesh_terms: D000143:Acids; D000818:Animals; D002021:Buffers; D002417:Cattle; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000503:physiopathology; D003747:Dental Enamel Solubility / Q000502:physiology*; D003750:Dental Fissures / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003804:Dentin / Q000503:physiopathology; D003808:Dentin Solubility / Q000502:physiology*; D005947:Glucose / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D017736:Ion-Selective Electrodes; D008839:Microelectrodes; D008852:Microradiography; D008903:Minerals / Q000032:analysis; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry; D012995:Solubility; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D000143:Acids; D002021:Buffers; D008903:Minerals; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate; D005947:Glucose