Iron supplementation reduces the erosive potential of a cola drink on enamel and dentin in situ

Iron has been suggested to reduce the erosive potential of cola drinks in vitro. objective: the aim of this study was to evaluate in situ the effect of ferrous sulfate supplementation on the inhibition of the erosion caused by a cola drink. material and methods: ten adult volunteers participated in a crossover protocol conducted in two phases of 5 days,separated by a washout period of 7 days. in each phase,they wore palatal devices containing two human enamel and two human dentin blocks. the volunteers immersed the devices for 5 min in 150 ml of cola drink (coca-cola™,ph 2.6),containing ferrous sulfate (10 mmol/l) or not (control),4 times per day. the effect of ferrous sulfate on the inhibition of erosion was evaluated by profilometry (wear). data were analyzed by paired t tests (p<0.05). results: the mean wear (±se) was significantly reduced in the presence of ferrous sulfate,both for enamel (control: 5.8±1.0 μm; ferrous sulfate: 2.8±0.6 μm) and dentin (control: 4.8±0.8 μm; ferrous sulfate: 1.7±0.7 μm). conclusions: the supplementation of cola drinks with ferrous sulfate can be a good alternative for the reduction of their erosive potential. additional studies should be done to test if lower ferrous sulfate concentrations can also have a protective effect as well as the combination of ferrous sulfate with other ions.