Evaluation of the Erosive Potential of Various Pediatric Liquid Medicaments: An in-vitro Study.

BACKGROUND The present in-vitro study was a scanning electron microscope (SEM) study conducted in primary teeth in order to evaluate the erosive potential of ten commonly used pediatric liquid medications (PLMs). MATERIALS & METHODS 10 commonly used PLMs and 33 exfoliated or extracted primary teeth were collected. The 33 teeth were divided into two groups, the control group (n=3) and the study group (n=30). The endogenous pH of all the teeth was measured using a pH electrode meter. The control group teeth were immersed in artificial saliva for three different time intervals- 1 minute, 10 minutes and 8 hours. The study group teeth were also maintained for 1 minute, 10 minutes and 8 hours in various selected PLMs. The primary enamel surface (PES) changes were then observed under the SEM for all the teeth of both groups. RESULTS All the PLMs used in the study showed an erosive effect on the PES when viewed under SEM. Majority of the medications caused etched prism pattern followed by crater formation and sporadic rod ends in that order on PES. CONCLUSION There is a need to educate parents and professionals about the association between dental erosion and PLMs which predisposes to dental caries. How to cite the article: Tupalli AR, Satish B, Shetty BR, Battu S, Kumar JP, Nagaraju B. Evaluation of the Erosive Potential of Various Pediatric Liquid Medicaments: An In-vitro Study. J Int Oral Health 2014;6(1):59-65.