The effect of magnesium hydroxide-containing dentifrice using an extrinsic and intrinsic erosion cycling model.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate, in vitro, the effect of Mg(OH)2 dentifrice, and the influence of the number of experimental days, on the extrinsic (citric acid -CA) and intrinsic (hydrochloric acid -HCl) enamel erosion models.

DESIGN: Human enamel slabs were selected according to surface hardness and randomly assigned to 3 groups (n=9) as follows: non-fluoridated (negative control), NaF (1450ppm F- positive control) and Mg(OH)2 (2%) dentifrices. The slabs were daily submitted to a 2-h period of pellicle formation and, over a period of 5days, submitted to cycles (3×/day) of erosive challenge (CA 0.05M, pH=3.75 or HCl 0.01M, pH=2 for 30s), treatment (1min -1:3w/w of dentifrice/distilled water) and remineralization (artificial saliva/120min). Enamel changes were determined by surface hardness loss (SHL) for each day and mechanical profilometry analysis. Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's test to % SHL and one-way ANOVA to profilometry (p<0.05).

RESULTS: The number of experimental days influenced the erosion process for the two types of erosion models (p<0.001). Mg(OH)2-containing dentifrices were effective in reducing enamel extrinsic acid erosion as determined by % SHL (p<0.001) when compared to the control group, being better than positive control (p<0.001); however, the dentifrices were not effective for the intrinsic model (p=0.295). With regards to surface wear, no statistically significant differences were found among the groups for CA (p=0.225) and HCl (p=0.526).

CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that Mg(OH)2 dentifrices might protect enamel against slight erosion, but protection was not effective for stronger acid erosion.