The relationship between performance of caries detector dyes and solvent molecular weight has been reported, but viscosity has not yet been investigated. Therefore, using extracted human teeth, we compared 6 experimental caries detector dyes with different viscosities to clarify the relationship between dye viscosity and staining performance in sclerotic dentin. Carious dentin started showing dentin staining when stained with caries detector dyes with kinematic viscosity≥263 mm2/s, showed no immunoreactivity for Streptococcus mutans on immunohistochemistry, and contained dentinal tubules free of debris on scanning electron microscopy. Samples stained using a caries detector dye with kinematic viscosity of 332 mm2/s contained calcification product-like debris in the dentinal tubules. These findings suggest that the caries detector dye has a threshold kinematic viscosity between 263 and 332 mm2/s at which sclerotic dentin and tissues beyond are not stained. The caries detector dye appears to control tooth dyeability based on solvent viscosity.
Keywords: Caries detection; Immunohistochemistry; Kinematic viscosity; Staining performance.