Effect of fluoride-containing alginates and gels on the acid resistance of demineralized human enamel.

A series of in vitro studies were carried out to determine the effect of commerically available alginate impression materials and gels on enamel solubility. This was performed by 4-min topical application of the tested products on partially demineralized enamel surfaces. The difference in the amounts of calcium and phosphorus dissolved in acetate buffer before and after topical treatment was considered a measure of the reduction in enamel solubility. All topically applied materials except APF-gel (Gelution) exerted a considerable reduction in enamel solubility ranging between 41.4% and 61.5% in 0.2 M acetate buffer. Successive enamel solubility tests in weak acetate buffer (0.01 M) showed that Gelution was inferior to the other tested products. No simple relationship exists between the fluoride content of these products and their antisolubility effect.