Moessbauer Studies of Stannous Fluoride Reactivity with Synthetic Tooth Enamel - A Model for the Tooth Cavity Protection Actions of Novel Dentifrices

SnF2 is an important toothpaste ingredient, added for the provision of clinical efficacy for hard and soft tissue diseases and in breath protection. Synthetic calcium hydroxyapatite powders were exposed to liquid supernates (25 w/w% toothpaste water slurries, centrifuged) of Crest Gum Care (registered) (SnF2) dentifrice. One-minute treatments were followed by 3x water washing, centrifugation and lyophilization. Post treatment, powders were analyzed by Moessbauer spectroscopy with 0.5-1 gram of treated apatite powder. Results show that tooth mineral stannous fluoride interactions include: (1) formation of surface reaction products with both Sn(II) and Sn(IV) oxidation states; (2) Sn-F binding on mineral surfaces with no evidence of SnO. The surface binding is, however, not pure Sn-F but contains contributions of other ligands, probably oxygens from surface phosphates or hydroxyl groups. Results also suggest that surface reacted stannous tin is oxidized with time, even when bound as a layer on the tooth surface. This study demonstrates for the first time the presence of Sn-F on tooth enamel post treatment and the contribution of passivation to long term stannous chemistry on tooth surfaces. The study also illustrates the practical applications of the Moessbauer technique.