The Concomitant Deposition of Strontium and Fluoride in Dental Plaque

Abstract

We have investigated the feasibility of incorporating Sr into dental plaque by means of an enzyme-dependent system known to increase Ca, P, and F levels in plaque. A solution containing Ca (20 mmoll L), P (12 mmol/L), MFP (4.7 mmol/L), F (0.3 mmol/L), and urea (500 mmol/L) was modified by equimolar replacement of Ca with 1, 2, 5, and 10 mmol/L Sr. Thin films of human salivary sediment incubated in these solutions showed increasing levels of acid-extractable Sr as the solution Sr increased. When the concentration exceeded 2 mmol/L, deposition of Ca, P, and F was reduced. In artificial plaque, grown on bovine enamel, from mixed human salivary organisms and treated with the solution containing 2 mmol Sr/L, there was a slightly smaller uptake of Ca, P, and Sr, but a greater uptake of F than in sediment treated with the same solution. Natural human plaque treated 12 times in vivo over three days with this solution (in the form of a mouthrinse) also showed substantial increases (from five- to 26-fold) in the concentrations of all four ions. Absolute levels of Ca, P, F, and especially Sr were, however, lower than those in the artificial plaque samples. (Ca + Sr)/P ratios suggested apatite deposition, and the correlation between amounts of Ca and Sr deposited in natural plaque samples suggested that Sr, like F, is structurally incorporated into this apatite. Fluctuations in the pH of natural plaque may promote apatite crystal maturation, causing a slow loss of Sr. The substituted apatite should act as a plaque reservoir, releasing Sr and F as well as Ca and P to inhibit caries during low pH episodes that might otherwise threaten the adjacent enamel or root surfaces.