This study aimed to develop an automated pH-cycling system using inexpensive commercial components that can replicate pH fluctuations in the oral cavity and salivary clearance to compare demineralization characteristics with the conventional method. The study found that the newly developed cycle-1 group showed improved demineralization properties, including apparent lesion depth, surface roughness, Vickers hardness, mineral loss, and depth of demineralization, compared to the control group. Additionally, the cycle-2 group, which had a longer cycle interval, showed further improvements in the demineralization properties. This system can replicate the differences in dental damage caused by differences in meals, snacking frequencies, and lifestyle rhythms, making it useful in cariology, preventive dentistry research, and oral care product development. It can be constructed using inexpensive commercial products, significantly reducing research costs and improving reproducibility and fairness between different experimental facilities. The system can replicate lifestyle rhythms, such as meals, sleep, and oral clearance by saliva, making it an in vitro pseudo-oral cavity.
Keywords: demineralization; enamel; microhardness; pH-cycling; preventive dentistry.