Salivary Buffering Potential of F-TCP Toothpaste in Saudi School Children, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Objective: Re-mineralization process may be hindered by the acidic chemo-dynamic theory of saliva. Tri-calcium phosphate toothpaste; evidenced with improved enamel re-mineralization effectiveness but little studies available regard their acidic medium challenge; meanwhile, many studies in Saudi Arabia reported high children caries prevalence respondents to low salivary buffer values. Method: Random primary school from Riyadh City, KSA selected for the study. A sample of 85 schoolchildren ages 6-8 years old passed the trial with the exemption for those suffering from any systemic illness or using any medication from the study. Ethical clearance was obtained from their parents. Subjects refrained from food or drink for 30 minutes prior to experiment commencement to avoid carryover effect from previous saliva stimulation. Un-stimulated saliva sample ~5ml. in polypropylene vials were collected for pH-value assay, using chair-side colorimetric paper strips indicator Whatman℗ Maldupa I (2011) (pH range 0-14) directly before, and 2 minutes after supervised tooth brushing with pea-sized dentifrice 3M Clinpro™ Tooth Creme (0.21% w/w Sodium Fluoride with Tri-Calcium Phosphate) placed on tooth brushes. Calibration considered with pH 4, 7 and 9 readings according to manufacture standard strip. Results: T-test showed a significant difference (p<0.05) between before and after brushing (m=0.47 ± SD=1.15). Conclusion: Results from this study may suggest f-TCP additive significantly improves re-mineralization capacity of fluoride preparations, even in low salivary pH children communities who are identified as “caries risk”.