Dentin tubule occlusion by a 38% silver diamine fluoride gel: an in vitro investigation

Andreas Kiesow; Matthias Menzel; Frank Lippert; Jason M Tanzer; Peter Milgrom

doi:10.1038/s41405-022-00095-8

Dentin tubule occlusion by a 38% silver diamine fluoride gel: an in vitro investigation

BDJ Open. 2022 Jan 13;8(1):1. doi: 10.1038/s41405-022-00095-8.

Authors

Andreas Kiesow¹, Matthias Menzel¹, Frank Lippert², Jason M Tanzer³, Peter Milgrom⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological and Macromolecular Materials, Characterization of Medical and Cosmetic Care Products Group, Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS, Walter-Huelse-Strasse 1, Halle, 6120, Germany.
² Oral Health Research Institute, Department of Cariology, Operative Dentistry, and Dental Public Health, School of Dentistry, Indiana University, 415 Lansing Street, Indianapolis, IN, 46202-2876, USA.
³ Department of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, University of Connecticut Health, Farmington, CT, 06030-1605, USA.
⁴ Department of Oral Health Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195-7475, USA. dfrc@uw.edu.

Abstract

Objective: Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) is effective in treatment of dentin hypersensitivity and caries lesions. However, the non-viscous solution does not easily allow clinicians to control the application area. A 38% SDF experiment gel was compared in vitro to commercial SDF for its ability to penetrate and occlude dentinal tubules.

Materials and methods: Human root surface dentin specimens were treated with gelled or standard 38% SDF or negative control. Penetration behavior was established by Drop Shape Analysis. Precipitates at the surface and within tubules were analyzed by SEM and EDX after treatment; Results: penetration depths up to 500 µm were observed for both SDF formulations. Both formulations occluded dentinal tubules similarly. Precipitates on the dentin surface and within dentinal tubules were found for both SDF formulations, with a slight tendency for the experimental gel SDF product to be more abundant than the commercially available one.

Discussion: behavior of the experimental 38% SDF gel formulation appeared indistinguishable from the commercial 38% SDF product with respect to dentinal tubule penetration and occlusion.

Conclusions: The experimental 38% SDF gel may be a suitable intervention for the prevention of dentin hypersensitivity.