?EFFECT OF APPLICATION OF REMINERALIZATION AGENTS ON MICROHARDNESS & SURFACE ROUGHNESS OF THE ENAMEL SURFACE AFTER INTERPROXIMAL STRIPPING ? IN VIVO STUDY?

Background and objectives: nterproximal stripping is in practice clinically in orthodontics to obtain more space to align crowded teeth. Any product that might prevent mineral loss and promote remineralization is worth investigating. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate and to compare the effects of a commercial paste of xylitol and fluoride application after interproximal stripping of enamel surfaces. Method: sixteen patients undergoing orthodontic treatment participated in this study. For each patient, the extraction of 4 first premolars was part of orthodontic treatment plan. The patients were segregated into 4 groups of 4 patients. In group 1, no stripping was performed, and the teeth were removed immediately. In group 2, the stripped teeth were extracted after exposure to oral conditions for 3 months. In groups 3 and 4, xylitol toothpaste or fluoride was applied to the stripped surfaces for 3 months, respectively, before the teeth were extracted. Microhardness values were evaluated with anova one-way analysis of variance and tukey tests. Result: stripping decreased the microhardness of the enamel. However, the mean values of enamel microhardness increased after the xylitol and fluoride gel application. Fluoride showed marginally more amount of remineralization than xylitol which is statistically significant. (p<0.001) Conclusion : ased on thefindings of this in vivo study, it can be concluded that the saliva and remineralizing agents (fluoride and xylitol) increased the microhardness values of stripped enamel surfaces.