Journal of Dental Research, Vol 61, 456-459, Copyright © 1982 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
Intraoral mineralization of abraded dental enamel
F. Brudevold, A. Tehrani and Y. Bakhos
The iodide permeability (Ip) of abraded bovine enamel increased after short
exposure to an acid buffer and decreased after short exposure to a
mineralizing solution. Intraoral exposure gave a marked decrease in Ip
after one h and a continued lesser decrease after two and three h. In vitro
exposure to fresh and dialyzed saliva and various undersaturated solutions
indicated that the intraoral decrease was due to mineralization rather than
to pellicle formation. Analysis of the data also indicated that part of the
mineral formed intraorally was more loosely bound to the enamel than that
formed from an inorganic mineralizing solution. The rapid rate of the
initial phase of intraoral mineralization shown in this study reveals a
powerful mechanism for protecting the dentition against demineralization.
