Resin Infiltration Effectively Masks Initial Caries Lesions After Orthodontic Treatment

Eleven studies with 1834 teeth being affected in 413 patients were included.

Nine studies were randomized control trials, one a prospective cohort study, and one had an unclear study design.

Meta-analysis could be performed for “resin infiltration vs. untreated control,” “resin infiltration vs. fluoride varnish,” and “resin infiltration without bleaching vs. resin infiltration with bleaching.” WSL being treated with resin infiltration showed a significantly higher optical improvement than WSL without any treatment and with fluoride varnish application

In patients with fluorosis, bleaching prior to resin infiltration showed no difference in the masking effect compared to infiltration alone

Resin infiltration has a significantly higher masking effect than natural remineralization or regular application of fluoride varnishes. However, although the evidence was graded as moderate, this conclusion is based on only very few well-conducted RCTs. Resin infiltration seems to be a viable option to esthetically mask enamel white spot lesions and fluorosis.

Reference:

Bourouni S, Dritsas K, Kloukos D, Wierichs RJ. Efficacy of resin infiltration to mask post-orthodontic or non-post-orthodontic white spot lesions or fluorosis - a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Oral Investig. 2021 Aug;25(8):4711-4719. doi: 10.1007/s00784-021-03931-7. Epub 2021 Jun 9. PMID: 34106348; PMCID: PMC8342329.