Nanomechanical properties, SEM, and EDS microanalysis of dentin treated with 2.5% titanium tetrafluoride, before and after an erosive challenge.

The aim was to assess the nanohardness (H) and the reduced modulus of elasticity (Er ) of 2.5% titanium tetrafluoride (TiF4 ) modified dentin, before and after an erosive challenge with 0.3% citric acid (CA). Exposed dentin surfaces were divided into two groups (n = 5): (1) Control-no dentin pretreatment with TiF4 prior to etching with CA, and (2) Experimental-dentin pretreatment with TiF4  + CA. The H and the Er of intertubular dentin were measured using a triboindenter at different time points: baseline for both groups, after using 2.5% TiF4 for the experimental group, and after using CA for both the experimental and the control groups. Scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis of the dentin surfaces were undertaken at the same time points for both groups. Two-way ANOVA for randomized block design was applied. There was significant interaction between the application of the TiF4 solution and different time points (p = 0.001 for H and p < 0.001 for Er ), identified by Tukey's test. Erosive challenge provided a significant decrease in H and Er mean values. The TiF4 solution caused a significant increase in H and Er values, but no significant differences were found between post-TiF4 and post-CA application. TiF4 application produced a precipitate surface layer on intertubular and intratubular dentin. EDS analysis indicated the presence of titanium. The H and Er of the dentin surface were greatly increased after application of 2.5% TiF4 . TiF4 may modify the micromorphology of the dentin surface and produces an erosive resistance surface.