Nanostructural effect of acid-etching and fluoride application on human primary and permanent tooth enamels

This study examined the nanostructural effects of fluoride application and the acid-etching time with respect to the time elapsed after fluoride application on the primary and permanent tooth enamel layers using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). 192 non-carious teeth were assigned to sixteen experimental groups (n = 12) including primary (1 to 8) and permanent (9 to 16) teeth, based on the timing of acid-etching with 37% phosphoric acid after an acidulated phosphate fluoride (APF) pre-treatment. The APF pre-treatment led to a decrease in surface roughness in both the primary and permanent teeth. After the APF treatment, the roughness in both primary and permanent teeth increased with the time elapsed. An acid-etching time of 40 s led to increased nanostructural changes in the enamel surfaces compared to the conventional acid-etching time of 20 s. This acid-etching process led to a higher roughness changes in the primary teeth than in the permanent teeth. To obtain proper enamel adhesion of a sealant after APF pre-treatment, it is important to apply acid-etching two weeks after pre-treatment. In addition, the acid-etching time should be prolonged to apply etching more quickly than two weeks, regardless of the primary and permanent teeth.