A microradiographic and chemical comparison of in vitro systems for the simulation of incipient caries in abraded bovine enamel.

An acetate buffer system, supersaturated with fluorapatite but not with hydroxyapatite, produced lesions in abraded bovine enamel which resembled human enamel caries lesions, both morphologically and in their F distribution. A gelatin-lactate system gave similar results when unpurified gelatin was used. Systems containing deionized gelatin, diphosphonate, or Ca and phosphate but no F, failed to produce caries-like lesions.