The permeability of artificial dentine carious lesions.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to verify whether two demineralisation solutions, with different fluoride concentrations, would produce subsurface lesions in dentine, as assessed by microradiography, with different mineral loss profiles and, subsequently, to determine the dentine permeability of the two altered tissues. METHODS: Forty-five human coronal portions were prepared and randomly divided into two test groups (20 specimens each) with the remaining five as a control group. Each test group was exposed to a demineralisation solution containing either 1 or 5 ppm fluoride for five days. RESULTS: There were highly significant differences between the two test groups for all microradiographic parameters, except for lesion depth. The increase in dentine permeability from baseline to day 5 was statistically significant within each of the two test groups, but not for the control group. CONCLUSION: The differences in the mineral content profile of the two lesions did not influence the magnitude of change in their permeability.