Untreated caries are common findings in low-income communities. Treatment of dental caries in young children is challenging and requires a high skill and high cost of dental anesthesia for controlling patients and thus, chemical methods for arresting dental caries have been proposed. Silver diamine FLUORIDE (SDF) is a material that is used to control and to arrest dental caries, especially in primary teeth. It is noninvasive, safe, easy to use, and cost-effective. The SDF can be used as a therapeutic agent in oral health projects in low-income communities. In this article we reviewed the silver diamine FLUORIDE and its application in dentistry.

Statement of Problem: Various forms of FLUORIDE-contained products are used to increase the resistance of the tooth against caries for preventive purposes. Furthermore, studies demonstrated higher FLUORIDE uptake with varnish and gel among the wide range of products.Purpose: This study compared FLUORIDE uptake of Duraflor® varnish (Practicon Dent, USA) with FLUORIDE gel (APF, Sultan®), used on the enamel surface of the intact teeth.Materials and Method: In this experimental in-vitro study, 20 intact pre-molar teeth extracted for orthodontic purposes were randomly assigned to two groups of 10 teeth. The teeth were sectioned into two mesial and distal halves as the control and experimental sides. Defined semi-circular areas on the enamel surface of the experimental halves were treated with gel or varnish for 1 hour. The sample halves were stored in artificial saliva for 24 hours at 37oC, etched for 30 seconds by 0.5 M perchloric acid, and washed by 0.2 m KOH after each etching process. Biopsies of the samples were obtained by Acid Etch Enamel Biopsy technique and the FLUORIDE and calcium concentrations were calculated by potentiometer and spectrophotometer, respectively. Kolmogorov-smirnov, Paired t-test and Student t- test were used for statistical analyses.Results: The results demonstrated an increase in the enamel FLUORIDE content after exposure of the teeth to both Duraflor® varnish and APF gel (Sultan®). The results of the paired t-test revealed significant differences between the experimental and control halves in both groups (varnish: p=0.002, gel: p=0.039). The FLUORIDE uptake value in varnish and gel groups was 2069.78 ppm and 1050.99 ppm, respectively. The student t-test showed a statistically significant difference (p=0.01).Conclusion: Both APF gel and Duraflor® varnish increased the FLUORIDE content of the tooth enamel after application, although Duraflor® varnish had a higher FLUORIDE uptake level than APF gel.

Background and Aim: Many studies have shown that various FLUORIDE-containing products can change salivary FLUORIDE concentration. Nowadays, different kinds of topical FLUORIDE gels and foams are used to prevent dental caries. The aim of this study was to evaluate salivary FLUORIDE concentration following the application of 3 different FLUORIDE containing materials at different follow-up intervals. Materials and Methods: In this cross over clinical trial, 12 dentistry students with the mean age of 25. 66± 2. 4 years participated. They had no dental caries or FLUORIDEcontaining restorations, and they had not received any kind of FLUORIDE treatment, recently. Each participant was entered in 3 intervention sessions in which Topex® APF gel, Topex APF foam and Cina APF gel were applied followed by a one-week washout period. Before starting the treatment, unstimulated saliva samples were collected. Saliva samples were also collected at 1, 15, 30, and 60 minutes after the treatment, and FLUORIDE concentrations were evaluated by using the ion specific electrode method. Data were analyzed by the use of Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn multiple comparison tests. Results: Salivary concentration was in the maximum range at minute one, after using each type of fluoridated products evaluated in this survey, and it decreased gradually to minute 60. There was a significant statistical difference in FLUORIDE concentration at minutes 1 and 60 after using Topex® APF gel in comparison with Topex® APF foam and Cina APF gel. Furthermore, significant statistical differences in salivary FLUORIDE concentration were reported following the application of Topex® APF gel, Cina APF gel and Topex® APF foam (p<0. 001). There were no significant differences between Cina APF gel and Topex® APF foam. Conclusion: The results of the present study revealed that Topex® APF foam at minute one and Cina APF gel at minute 60 induced higher salivary FLUORIDE concentrations in comparison with the other studied FLUORIDE-containing products.

FLUORIDE is currently accessible in various forms, including water, toothpaste, mouth rinses, and professional FLUORIDE therapy at dental clinics. A body of data supports the use of systemic and topical FLUORIDE from various sources to prevent dental caries. . . .

Background & Aims: The present study compared FLUORIDE uptake into enamel from sodium FLUORIDE 0.05% gel and American Dental Association approved FLUORIDE gel (Stannous FLUORIDE 0.4%, Sultan Co.) when used on healthy enamel of the intact teeth.Methods: In an experimental study, 30 intact teeth extracted for orthodontic purposes were randomly assigned into two groups of 15 teeth. The teeth were sectioned in two mesial and distal halves as control and experimental sides. Defined semi-circular areas on the enamel of experimental halves were treated with gel for 4 minutes, the halves were stored in artificial saliva for 24 hours at 37 ºC, etched for 30 seconds by 0.5 M perchlorid Acid and washed by 0.2 ml KOH after each etching. Biopsy of the samples was obtained by Acid Etch Enamel Biopsy technique and the FLUORIDE and calcium concentration were calculated by potentiometer and spectrophotometer respectively. Paired t test and student t test were used for statistical analyses.Results: The results showed significant increase of enamel FLUORIDE content in the experimental halves after exposure to both stannous FLUORIDE 0.4% (P=0.0001) and sodium FLUORIDE 0.05% (P=0.009). Mean FLUORIDE uptakes in stannous FLUORIDE 0.4% gel and sodium FLUORIDE 0.05% gel groups were respectively 4052.5 ppm and 892.5 ppm that shows statistically significant difference (P=0.0001).Conclusion: Although both sodium FLUORIDE 0.05% and stannous FLUORIDE 0.4% increased FLUORIDE Content of tooth enamel after application, stannous FLUORIDE 0.4% caused more FLUORIDE uptake into the tooth enamel that is due to its higher amount of FLUORIDE ion (1000 ppm) compared to sodium FLUORIDE gel (225 ppm).