hydroxyapatite in the prevention of caries

introduction

The effectiveness of hydroxyapatite in the treatment of caries has been shown in several in situ and in vitro studies. What was missing, however, are in vivo studies to consolidate these results. To date, clinical studies on hydroxyapatite are only available in the areas of periodontitis prophylaxis and the treatment of pain-sensitive teeth. A study comparing hydroxyapatite and fluoride in caries prophylaxis has not been available to date.

Question

Is hydroxyapatite as clinically effective as fluoride in preventing tooth decay?

material and methods

This multicenter, double-blind, randomized clinical study was carried out at five university hospitals in Germany. The subjects were between 11 and 25 years old, represented a risk group of caries (orthodontic treatment) and were recruited at the first presentation. None of the subjects had any tooth decay at the start of the study. Professional teeth cleaning was carried out before the orthodontic treatment. The dental status was assessed using the ICDAS code (International Caries Detection and Assessment System; www.icdas.org). An ICDAS code of 1 or greater was set as the primary endpoint. The study duration was 6 months. Studies show that caries can be detected in this risk group after 6 months. The subjects were regularly called in for check-ups,

After recruitment, the test subjects were randomly divided into two groups: test group with a toothpaste containing hydroxyapatite (Karex) and a control group with a toothpaste containing amine / tin fluoride.

Results

A total of 150 test persons, who were evenly divided between the two groups, were recruited. While caries according to ICDAS 1 developed in 60.9% of the amine fluoride / tin fluoride group, only 54.7% of the hydroxyapatite group showed such a carious enamel change. The difference was even greater with ICDAS 2: 34.8% of the amine fluoride / tin fluoride group developed caries, whereas only 23.4% of the subjects in the test group who brushed their teeth with toothpaste containing hydroxylapatite had ICDAS 2 have been diagnosed. Statistically significant differences could not be

conclusion

Toothpaste containing hydroxylapatite (Karex) is clinically just as effective in preventing tooth decay as fluoride toothpaste.