A comparative study of two chemical models for creating subsurface caries lesions on aprismatic and prismatic enamel.

Purpose: To investigate the mineral density and lesion depth of artificial caries lesions on aprismatic enamel and prismatic enamel created by lactic acid and acetic acid buffers.

Methods: Forty bovine enamel blocks were allocated to: aprismatic enamel (Group A) and prismatic enamel (Group C) in acetic acid buffer for 192 h and aprismatic enamel (Group B) and prismatic enamel (Group D) in lactic acid buffer for 96 h. The mineral loss and lesion depth were measured using micro-computed tomography.

Results: A significant difference (P = 0.01) was observed in the mineral loss (%) in the lesions on aprismatic enamel and prismatic enamel treated with lactic acid buffer while no significant difference (P = 0.51) was observed in the mineral loss (%) in the lesions on aprismatic enamel and prismatic enamel treated with acetic acid buffer. No significant difference was noted in the mean lesion depth of lesions on aprismatic enamel and prismatic enamel treated with acetic acid and lactic acid buffers (P > 0.05).

Conclusion: Aprismatic enamel and prismatic enamel have similar mineral loss in acetic acid while prismatic enamel showed more mineral loss compared to aprismatic enamel in lactic acid.