Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of toothpaste slurry abrasivity and toothbrush filament diameter on abrasion of eroded dentin in vitro.
Methods: Eroded dentin samples (hydrochloric acid, pH 2.6, 15s) were brushed with 40 strokes in an automatic brushing machine using manual toothbrushes with different filament diameter (0.15, 0.20 or 0.25 mm). The toothbrushes were applied with a control slurry free of abrasive particles (RDA-value 10) or toothpastes slurries with different abrasivity (RDA-values 20, 50 or 100). Each erosive-abrasive cycle was followed by storage of the dentin samples in artificial saliva for 3h. After each 4 cycles, the samples were stored in artificial saliva for 15 h. After 60 cycles, dentin loss was measured by profilometry and statistically analysed by ANOVA and linear regression analysis.
Results: Dentin loss increased along with the RDA-value of the toothpaste slurries. The impact of the filament diameter on dentin loss was less evident compared to the RDA-value. However, toothbrushes with smaller filament stiffness caused higher dentin wear in all toothpaste slurry groups (RDA 20, 50 and 100) except for the paste-free control group (RDA 10).
Conclusion: Abrasion of eroded dentin increased along with the RDA-value of the toothpaste slurry and with decreasing filament diameter of the toothbrush.