Caries-inhibitory effect of titanium tetrafluoride in rats.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the caries-inhibitory effect of TiF4 as compared with equimolar solutions of neutral and acidified NaF. Sixty Sprague-Dawley rats were weaned 19 days after birth and given a cariogenic diet. They were randomly divided into four groups and given a 1-min topical treatment of the molar teeth on day 1 and day 17 of the experiment with the following solutions: group 1: 1% TiF4, pH 1.5; group 2: 1.3% NaF, pH 7.0; group 3: 1.3% NaF, pH 1.5; and group 4: control, distilled water. From day 2 the rats were inoculated with Streptococcus mutans twice weekly. On day 55 the rats were killed, and caries scored in accordance with Keyes. Total caries scored were (mean +/- SD): group 1, 12.7 +/- 9.5; group 2, 17.4 +/- 8.6; group 3, 14.3 +/- 9.7; and group 4, 29.5 +/- 9.0. There were significantly (p less than 0.05) reduced caries scores for total caries and for buccal + lingual and sulcal areas for all test groups as compared with the control group. Differences between control and test groups in proximal surfaces and between fluoride groups were non-significant. The results showed that the caries-inhibitory effect of TiF4 is at least as good as that of NaF in rats.