The impact of biological properties of bioactive glasses on enamel during artificial erosive tooth wear

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of air-abrasion with two bioactive glasses (BAGs) on enamel surface against erosion/abrasion challenge. Materials and methods: Thirty human third molars were collected, and enamel specimens were prepared and randomly assigned to three groups (n = 10): control group, where specimens received no treatment and BAG groups, where enamel was air-abraded once for 10 seconds with BioMinF® and ProSylc™, respectively. The operational parameters were: air pressure 20 psi, powder flow rate dial 1 g/min and nozzle-surface distance 5 mm. The samples were submerged in a 0.01 M HCl solution for 2 minutes and then placed in a remineralizing solution for 2 hours (five times daily). At the end of each day, the samples were stored in the remineralizing solution for 14 hours. Thirty minutes after the initial and final erosive challenges of the day, an abrasion challenge was conducted using an electric toothbrush. Erosive tooth wear (ETW) was evaluated by measuring enamel surface loss, while surface hardness and roughness were measured to provide an indirect assessment of ETW-related changes. Additional insights into the bioactivity of the treatments were obtained by analyzing alterations in enamel morphology and composition. The data were statistically analyzed using one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results: BAG treatments significantly reduced surface loss (38.7–46.7%) and increased surface hardness (6.3–8.9%) and roughness in enamel (p < 0.05). No significant differences were observed between the two BAG treatments (p > 0.05). Alterations in enamel surface morphology and composition were detected in the BAG groups compared to the control. Conclusions: Air-abrasion treatment with BAGs can provide a protective effect against early ETW, particularly under conditions that simulate gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)–related defects. Clinically, this implies that BAG air-abrasion may serve as a minimally invasive preventive treatment for patients at high risk of ETW, such as those with GERD.