Hydrophobic coatings for prevention of dental enamel erosion

The protective effect of a hydrophobic surface against acid erosion was validated in the present work using octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) on hydroxyapatite films (HA) and on dental samples. The acid erosion was firstly evaluated on films made of HA and fluorapatite (HAF), and subsequently on films of HA coated by OTS. Our results have shown that the two first films were completely eroded during this evaluation and that no significant erosion was observed for the last film. Indeed, teeth coated with OTS showed no erosion at all after seven days of exposure to citric acid. The evaluation was based on QCM-D measurements, SEM images and water contact angle characterization. The results validate that a hydrophobic surface may be an effective tooth protector against acid erosion.