LESSENING DENTAL EROSIVE POTENTIAL BY PRODUCT MODIFICATION

Current interest in dental erosion has led to increasing attention to ways in which potentially erosive products might be modified. Informat ion on how this could be achieved has been hard to gather, and has foc used chiefly on possibilities in reformulating soft drinks. The bulk o f the work published on this relates to calcium and phosphate suppleme ntation, ranging from early experimentation on saturation of a deminer alising medium with tricalcium phosphate, through tests of more solubl e phosphates and other calcium salts providing various levels of Ca2and PO43-, to a calcium citrate malate additive specially formulated t o curb erosion by soft drinks. Opinions on the effectiveness of citrat e, the practicability of reducing the acidity levels of soft drinks, a nd the possible applications of fluoride, bicarbonates and certain con stituents of milk products are also included. Finally, an attempt has been made to summarize some of the advantages and shortcomings of the different methods, but it is clear that much further work will be need ed before firm guidelines on the best routes to product improvement ca n be laid down.