Quantitative assessment of dentine mineralization and tubule occlusion by NovaMin and stannous fluoride using serial block face scanning electron microscopy

Dentine hypersensitivity (DH) is one of the most common dental conditions affecting most adults during their lifetime. Tubule occlusion is a widely accepted method for treating DH. Current in-vitro techniques such as focused ion beam, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), or hydraulic conductance that are used to determine tubule occlusion do not provide the depth of occlusion, are time-consuming, expensive and the volume of dentine tested is limited. The presented study aimed to assess the ability of serial block-face SEM (SBF-SEM) to section dentine, to quantify the number of occluded tubules including the depth of penetration by NovaMin and stannous fluoride (SnF2) and to compare mineral density between the control and treated dentine. Results demonstrated that NovaMin provided a better occlusion with 100% of the tubules blocked at the surface compared to 83% for SnF2. The grayscale value (230.42) was significantly higher (p <= 0.05) after treatment with NovaMin compared to SnF2(222.06) and the control (196.37), indicating increased mineral density and dentine mineralization. SBF-SEM has the potential to be used for large volume analysis of bone-like materials at high resolution with minimal sample preparation over a short period. It can be significantly useful in the development and research of new biomaterials.

Automated summary

The study evaluated the impact of NovaMin and stannous fluoride (SnF2) on dentine tubule occlusion using serial block-face SEM (SBF-SEM). Results showed that NovaMin achieved better occlusion than SnF2, leading to increased mineral density and dentine mineralization. SBF-SEM demonstrates potential for high-resolution analysis of bone-like materials for research and development of new biomaterials.