Repair of enamel by calcium fluorophosphate ion clusters

Abstract Artificially restoring tooth enamel’s distinct structure is still difficult because of its intricate hierarchical structure, which spans from nanoscale to microscale. In this paper, triethylamine-stabilized calcium fluorophosphate ion clusters were prepared in an ethanol medium and investigated for the restoration of tooth enamel. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was utilized to analyze the structure of ion cluster transition intermediates. Ethanol volatilization removed triethylamine from the calcium fluorophosphate ion clusters, converting them to amorphous calcium phosphate. The calcium fluorophosphate ion clusters were added dropwise to the enamel window surface with a pipette gun and waited for 20 minutes for the coating to form. Then, the samples were placed in artificial saliva and incubated for 48 h. The SEM results showed that the enamel surfaces were denser after being restored by the calcium fluorophosphate ion clusters and that the distinctive fish-scale structure of the natural enamel was accurately replicated. Nanoindentation tests showed that the mechanical properties of the damaged enamel were restored after remineralization. Based on this study, calcium fluorophosphate ion clusters will potentially become a material for restoring enamel for clinical use.