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Composite restorations are prone to develop secondary caries if a gap exists between tissue and restoration. The aim of this article was to quantify the effects of a fluoridating and non-F composite on secondary dentine caries in vitro as a function of time. The mineral loss in dentine was assessed in an artificial gap of 200 microns width at the composite/dentine interface; the samples were demineralised in a carboxymethylcellulose gel (pH = 5, 37 degrees C) for 8 weeks. Once a week the mineral content of the samples was determined using non-destructive wavelength-independent microradiography (WIM). After 8 weeks transversal microradiography (TMR) was done on the samples to investigate the mineral distribution of the dentine lesions. The WIM results show that the fluoride-releasing composite decreased the dentine demineralisation statistically significantly with respect of the non-F control by approximately 45%. The mineral loss values are found to be strictly proportional to time; the demineralisation reduction is expected to continue over extended periods of clinical relevance. The TMR results show that the fluoridating composite reduced the mineral loss values significantly with respect to the non-F control by approximately 55%, but had a negligible effect on the lesion depth values. This study indicates that WIM is an accurate and reliable technique to measure in vitro secondary dentine caries next to a composite restoration as a function of time.

Fluoridated composites are able to reduce or inhibit secondary caries around fillings. The aims of this study were firstly to investigate the amount of F released in vitro from composites with a F content between 0 and 26 vol% as a function of time over a 1-year period. A second aim was to correlate the in vitro data on F release with enamel demineralisation data in situ after a 1-month period. The results show that all fluoridated composites release sizable amounts of F in solution, the total amounts of F released from three composites were proportional to log t over at least 1 year. In one case proportionality of the total amount of F released with t was observed. Possible mechanisms of F release are considered. The results presented also show a linear relation between the log of in vitro F release data and the effects on enamel demineralisation in situ next to the composite. Extrapolation of the data reveals that a F release of about 200-300 micrograms/cm2 over a 1-month period from a fluoridated composite would completely inhibit secondary caries under plaque conditions.

In this paper the results are presented on the effect glutardialdehyde (GDA) on the in situ demineralization of human enamel and dentine around an artificial gap of 200 microns width. In this model secondary enamel and dentine caries is simulated in situ; the mineral loss was quantified. The results show that a 2-min application of a 2% acidic GDA solution reduces dentine demineralization substantially, but does not influence enamel demineralization. Microradiography showed a reduction of mineral loss values around the gap in dentine by about 30%. The beneficial effect of GDA on dentine is presumably a combined result of collagen fixation, the reduced diffusion of calcium and phosphate ions out of the dentine lesion, and antibacterial action. The results indicate that GDA might play a role in the future reduction or prevention of secondary dentine caries.

In the literature, secondary caries around composite restorations is reported often. Fluoridated composites are therefore interesting materials because they might reduce or inhibit secondary caries. In this article an in situ model investigation is presented in which the effect of F-releasing composites on enamel demineralisation around an artificial gap of 200 microns width was quantified after 1 month. The fluoride content of the composites varied between 0 and 26 vol%. The beneficial effect of the fluoride released was larger in the gap than at the outer enamel surface. In the gap, all fluoridated composites reduced the enamel demineralisation statistically significantly with respect to the non-fluoridated control. Microradiography showed a reduction of lesion depth values of 27-45%, and a reduction of mineral loss values of 25-56%. At the outer enamel surface next to the artificial gap, a beneficial fluoridation effect was measurable only near the most fluoridated composite. The results indicate that fluoridated composites may play a role in the future prevention of secondary caries.