THE EFFECT OF A SINGLE APPLICATION OF DIFFERENT FLUORIDE VARNISHES ON ENAMEL SUBSURFACE LESIONS IN VITRO

This in vitro study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of different fluoride ion (F) varnish formulations for controlling the carious development of enamel subsurface lesions and the F release into artificial saliva for 2 hr, 24 hr, 48 hr, and 7 days. Artificial enamel carious lesions were created and divided into 6 groups (5 varnish groups and a control group). Varnishes were applied to enamel specimens and then the specimens were incubated in artificial saliva, with the artificial saliva replenished daily. Varnish was removed and lesions were remineralized in artificial saliva for 24 hr. Surface microhardness was measured three times: (i) initially, (ii) after creating the artificial enamel lesions, and (iii) after applying the varnishes. The F release was analyzed after 2 hr, 24 hr, 48 hr, and 7 days of exposure using an ion-selective electrode. Data were analyzed using a One-way Analysis of Variance with the Tukey-Kramer Multiple Comparisons test and the Kruskal-Wallis test with the Dunns Multiple Comparisons test. The highest percentage surface microhardness recovery was found for the treatment with the MI Varnish. According to the percentage surface microhardness recovery results, a statistically significant difference was found between the varnishes and the control group (p