Abstract: Purpose: This in vitro study used a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to assess and compare the occlusion of dentinal tubules following dentin treatment with silver diamine fluoride (SDF), nanosilver fluoride (NSF), or sodium fluoride (NaF). Materials and methods: Forty sound human premolar teeth had occlusal enamel wet-ground to yield flat dentin surfaces. A 2 mm thick dentin disc was obtained by cutting a parallel cut above the cementoenamel junction. All dentin discs were submerged in the demineralizing solution to produce artificial erosive lesions. The remineralizing agent was applied for three minutes to each of the three treatment groups (sodium fluoride, nano silver fluoride, and silver diamine fluoride). For a week, pH cycling was carried out on all dentin specimens. The environmental scanning electron microscope was used to analyze the specimens' surfaces following treatment. An occlusion scoring system (ranging from 1 to 5) was used to evaluate the degree of dentinal tubule occlusion. Results: The demineralized dentin surface topography revealed that the smear layer and plugs had been completely removed from the dentinal tubules, which had opened orifices. No Statistically significant difference in dentinal tubule score was found between NSF (mean 1.2±0.45) and SDF (mean 1±0) groups. The NaF group reported a mean of (3.6±0.55), while the negative control group had the least dentinal tubule occlusion (mean 4.8±0.45).
Conclusions: The dentinal occluding effect of Nanosilver fluoride was comparable to that of Silver Diamine Fluoride. In contrast to NaF, both SDF and NSF were able to resist the acidic challenges.