What does fluoride toothpaste do to the dentin on the teeth?
I've read articles about how fluoride toothpaste is essential to maintaining a healthy mouth, and how it is beneficial to the enamel. However, I could not find articles/papers regarding the effect of fluoride on the layer beneath the enamel, also known as the dentin.
Let's assume a guy who has his enamel completely eroded away (tooth decay), and is only left with his dentin. (Side Question: How likely is this?)
If he starts brushing his teeth with fluoride toothpaste, will the toothpaste help in slowing down his tooth decay, and/or have other positive and negative side effects?
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This is usually seen in clinical settings: a child is left with an untreated enamel caries. Then the lesion progress and the lesion is cavitated. The dentin then start to react, ocludding the dentinal tubules. When the saliva (+ minerals) reach the dentin, the caries process start to slow down and the dentin change from dark brown to almost black. At the same time, the change in color represents a change in the surface composition, changing from a soft surface to a hard one.
This occurs with the minerals of the saliva. If you add fluoride, you will enhance this process. Hence, the fluoride of the toothpaste will slow down the caries process in the dentin.
About you side question: often. Keep in mind that any radicular surface clinically visible means exposed dentin. Google "radicular caries" images.
If you want to read the details, ten Cate has several (now classics) papers:
ten Cate JM. Remineralization of caries lesions extending into
dentin. J Dent Res. 2001 May;80(5):1407-11.
Deng DM, van Loveren C, ten Cate JM. Caries-preventive agents induce
remineralization of dentin in a biofilm model. Caries Res. 2005
May-Jun;39(3):216-23.
Bonus 1: nobody knows why the carious dentin is brown...
Bonus 2: a black spot in a teeth means a dentinal stopped carious lesion.
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