About a synthetic saliva for in vitro studies

Numerous artificial salivas have been used during studies in odontology. Th ese salivas have compositions, which are more or less the same as that of n atural saliva. In this article, we are presenting a discussion about the va rious media described in the related literature. A review of nearly 60 arti ficial salivas was carried out to clarify the role of some of the compounds most frequently met in the proposed formulae. The study focused on the buf fer effect, the role played by CO, gas and the presence of calcium ions, hy drogenocarbonates, hydrogenophosphates and thiocyanates. The SAGF medium, w hich we proposed some years ago, was used as a reference and some in vitro behavioral tests of dental biomaterials were studied in a comparative way. Using the SAGF medium allowed us to specify the mode of fluoride ions relea se from glass ionomer cements and the corrosion behavior of the dental amal gams. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.