Enamel surface characteristics in early childhood caries: A comparative in vitro analysis with teeth of caries-free dentition
Abstract
Purpose: Early childhood caries (ECC) is a chronic, infectious, and transmissible condition with a complex multifactorial etiology, aspects of which remain unclear. This study aims to evaluate differences in enamel loss and surface roughness between primary teeth affected by ECC and those of caries-free dentition. Materials and Methods: Sixty-four extracted human primary incisors from two groups of children were allocated to two study groups: Group I (ECC-affected; n = 32) and Group II (caries-free; n = 32). All samples underwent artificial demineralization by immersion in 0.1 mol/L lactic acid (pH 5.3) at 37°C for 30 days. Postdemineralization, enamel loss and surface roughness were assessed using three-dimensional noncontact profilometry. Statistical analysis was performed using independent t-test. Results: The mean depth of demineralization was significantly higher in the ECC affected group (9.04 ± 4.08 μm) compared to the caries-free group (4.45 ± 3.39 μm). Similarly, the mean surface roughness was higher in the ECC group (2.00 ± 0.79 μm) than in the N-ECC group (0.87 ± 0.59 μm). Conclusions: Primary teeth affected by ECC exhibit significantly greater enamel loss and surface roughness following demineralization. These findings suggest the presence of inherent structural enamel defects in ECC-affected teeth, which may contribute to their increased susceptibility to caries development in children.
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BibTeX
@article{sundararajan2026enamel,
title = {{Enamel surface characteristics in early childhood caries: A comparative in vitro analysis with teeth of caries-free dentition}},
author = {Lavanya Sundararajan and J. Shanti Swarup and Mahesh Ramakrishnan and Rathika Thomas},
journal = {Journal of Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.4103/jisppd.jisppd_386_26},
url = {https://doi.org/10.4103/jisppd.jisppd_386_26},
note = {CC BY-NC-SA},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Enamel surface characteristics in early childhood caries: A comparative in vitro analysis with teeth of caries-free dentition
AU - Lavanya Sundararajan
AU - J. Shanti Swarup
AU - Mahesh Ramakrishnan
AU - Rathika Thomas
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - Journal of Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry
DO - 10.4103/jisppd.jisppd_386_26
UR - https://doi.org/10.4103/jisppd.jisppd_386_26
AB - Purpose: Early childhood caries (ECC) is a chronic, infectious, and transmissible condition with a complex multifactorial etiology, aspects of which remain unclear. This study aims to evaluate differences in enamel loss and surface roughness between primary teeth affected by ECC and those of caries-free dentition. Materials and Methods: Sixty-four extracted human primary incisors from two groups of children were allocated to two study groups: Group I (ECC-affected; n = 32) and Group II (caries-free; n = 32). All samples underwent artificial demineralization by immersion in 0.1 mol/L lactic acid (pH 5.3) at 37°C for 30 days. Postdemineralization, enamel loss and surface roughness were assessed using three-dimensional noncontact profilometry. Statistical analysis was performed using independent t-test. Results: The mean depth of demineralization was significantly higher in the ECC affected group (9.04 ± 4.08 μm) compared to the caries-free group (4.45 ± 3.39 μm). Similarly, the mean surface roughness was higher in the ECC group (2.00 ± 0.79 μm) than in the N-ECC group (0.87 ± 0.59 μm). Conclusions: Primary teeth affected by ECC exhibit significantly greater enamel loss and surface roughness following demineralization. These findings suggest the presence of inherent structural enamel defects in ECC-affected teeth, which may contribute to their increased susceptibility to caries development in children.
SN - 0970-4388
SN - 1998-3905
ER -