Confocal laser scanning microscopy and area-scale analysis used to quantify enamel surface textural changes from citric acid demineralization and salivary remineralization in vitro

Areal surface texture characterization of the surface events occurring during enamel demineralization and remineralization requires optical imaging instrumentation with lateral resolution <2.5 μm, applied in combination with appropriate filtering in order to remove unwanted waviness and roughness. These techniques will facilitate the development of novel methods for measuring early enamel erosion lesions in natural enamel surfaces in vivo.