Abstract
Caries affected dentin is inner carious dentin layer which is generally not removed during treatment. It is not infected but it is softer than normal dentin due to demineralization (Ogawa et al., 1983; Fusayama, 1993). Meanwhile, fluoride can promote remineralization of demineralized enamel (ten Cate et al. 1999) and also inhibit dentin demineralization (Pereira et al., 1998). Hardness of demineralized enamel increases when such surface is in the fluoride-containing environment (Arends et al. 1980). The purpose of this study was to examine hardness of caries affected dentin after contact to fluoride-releasing materials for 1 week and 1 month.
These results lead to the conclusion that Fuji IX has more effect on the hardness of caries affected dentin than Fuji II LC.
