Scanning electron microscopic study of the effect of salivary pellicle on enamel erosion.

A bovine tooth model system was used to study the effect of experimental salivary pellicle on enamel erosion. Test blocks with varnish-covered control surfaces in each specimen were immersed into an acidic cola beverage (pH 2.6) for 120 min, either with or without the pellicle which was grown for 7 days by using clarified human saliva. After immersion, the pellicle was removed from some specimens with 10% sodium hypochlorite (20 h at 20 degrees C) and ultrasonic bath (60 s) to study its effect on erosion. All specimens were then studied in the scanning electron microscope. The specimens without pellicle (positive controls) showed gross erosion with prism core dissolution in all study blocks. The specimens with pellicle showed occasionally a film-like integument covering the apparently intact test surfaces with adjacent enamel surfaces slightly eroded. The erosion, however, was not of the same magnitude as in the positive controls. After removing the pellicle, the enamel surfaces showed pitted appearance of the prism heads; the demineralization seemed to attack more the prism sheath areas. Thus, salivary pellicle was found to protect the underlining enamel from erosion in vitro.