Fluoride toothpaste and mouthwashes prevent erosive tooth wear, Finds study

The study has been reported in the Journal of Dentistry.

Alana Machado and associates from the Department of Restorative Dentistry, University of São Paulo School of Dentistry, São Paulo, Brazil conducted the present study on fifteen subjects to evaluate the impact of the application of a F^-/Sn²⁺-containing mouth rinse before or after toothbrushing with an F^-/Sn²⁺/chitosan toothpaste on the progression of erosion/abrasion on enamel and dentin.

The authors carried out this crossover in situ study with five categories- Control (toothbrushing without toothpaste), Brushing (toothbrushing with toothpaste), Brushing + Rinsing, Rinsing + Brushing, and Rinsing (without toothbrushing). All subjects used removable mandibular appliances containing 3 enamel and 3 dentin specimens, which were subjected to erosion-abrasion cycling of 60 min salivary pellicle formation followed by 5 min extra-oral erosion with 1% citric acid, they described.

Treatments were performed in situ after first and last erosive challenges with rinse and/or toothbrushing with/without toothpaste and the data was analyzed which revealed the following interesting findings-

1. The Control showed the highest surface loss.
2. Rinsing alone resulted in a significantly lower SL value compared with arms that applied toothpaste, except Brushing + Rinsing.
3. None of the arms that underwent toothbrushing with the toothpaste differed from each other.
4. Dentin specimens showed significantly higher SL values than enamel.

Based on the observations, the authors concluded that "the order of treatment applications had no influence on their anti-erosive effect; however, toothbrushing with F^-/Sn²⁺/chitosan toothpaste reduced enamel surface loss. Additional rinsing with F^-/Sn²⁺ mouthrinse did not offer improved protection."

Furthermore, "The use of fluoride- and stannous- containing toothpaste and mouthrinses is an important approach in the prevention of erosive tooth wear. Further evidence is needed to support the benefit of combining these products against this condition", they added.