Influence of dentifrices and dietary components in saliva on wettability of pellicle-coated enamel in vitro and in vivo.

In vitro salivary pellicles were found to be less hydrophobic by water contact angles than clinically formed pellicles. In this study, water contact angles were measured on enamel coated with pellicles adsorbed from reconstituted human whole saliva (RHWS) and after exposure to dentifrices or dietary components. In addition, adhesion of Streptococcus oralis J22 to pellicles formed from RHWS with minor amounts of milk added and after exposure to dentifrices was studied. Exposure of RHWS-pellicles to milk or salad oil yielded an increase in the hydrophobicity of in vitro pellicles to values observed in vivo, but a decrease was seen after exposure to a sugar solution. Pellicles formed from saliva with 0.4% milk added attracted less S. oralis cells than pellicles formed in the absence of milk components. Exposure of pellicles formed from saliva with milk added to various dentifrices had a variable effect on bacterial adhesion: markedly lower numbers of adhering S. oralis were found for a dentifrice with NaF, but exposure to dentifrices containing SnF2 or hexametaphosphate showed slightly increased adhesion. In summary, dietary components have influence on the hydrophobicity of enamel pellicles, while combinations of dietary components and dentifrices certainly influence the adhesiveness of the pellicles. The effects of dietary components on pellicle conditioning film should be taken into consideration in research on the development of ingredients to control intraoral surface chemistry and microbiology, as well as in the development of oral products.