Comparison of CPP-ACP, Fluoride Varnish and Gel effects on enamel microhardness of permanent teeth: In-Vitro

Background dental caries occurs due to the imbalance in the course of demineralization-remineralization in favor of demineralization. with remineralization, some signs of halted progression could be observed in the primary stages. the aim of this study is to in-vitro investigation of the effect of casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (cpp-acp), fluoride varnish, and fluoride gel on the microhardness of the enamel of permanent teeth. materials and methods: in this in vitro study, 344 specimens prepared from human premolars were randomly divided into four groups (n=86 specimens in each group). after preparing the specimens, the initial enamel value was first evaluated by vickers microhardness technique. the specimens were immersed in a demineralizing solution and then treated with remineralizing compounds (i. control, ii. fluoride varnish, iii. fluoride gel and iv. cpp-acp). microhardness values were re-measured at the end of demineralization and remineralization stages. the data were analyzed using spss software (version 16.0). results: the results of the present study indicated a statistically significant difference in all groups in terms of initial enamel microhardness (0.288 ± 42.77), remineralization (0.213 ± 26.89), and demineralization values (0.167 ± 63.87) (p <0.001). besides, there was a statistically significant difference in different groups in terms of remineralization values (p<0.001). in other words, the mean microhardness was 241.21 ±15.60 in group iii, 221.12 ± 75.69 in group ii, 211.16 ± 43.04 in group iv, and 178.21 ± 63.9 in group- i. conclusion all remineralizing compounds resulted in enhanced microhardness of the enamel. nevertheless, the fluoride-containing products showed greater potential in improving the level of microhardness and strength of the teeth compared to the compounds containing cpp-acp.