Acidic Electrolyzed Water Damages Tooth Dentin More Than Neutral Water
- Authors
- Ker-Kong Chen, Ju-Hui Wu, Shin-I. Wei, Je-Kang Du
- Journal
- Journal of Dental Sciences
- Year
- 2019
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jds.2019.09.007
- Study Type
- Cell Culture
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Taiwan
- Health Condition
- Dental Caries
- Body System
- Oral Health
TL;DR
Strongly acidic electrolyzed water softens the surface layer of teeth more than neutral electrolyzed water or a common bleach solution.
Key Finding
Strongly acidic electrolyzed water caused significantly greater softening and demineralization of dentin compared to neutral electrolyzed water and sodium hypochlorite, particularly in the outer 25 micrometers of the tooth structure.
Summary
Researchers tested how different types of electrolyzed water (water treated with electricity) affect the hardness of dentin, the material beneath tooth enamel. They soaked tooth samples in strongly acidic electrolyzed water, neutral electrolyzed water, sodium hypochlorite (a common dental disinfectant), or plain water for up to 60 minutes. Strongly acidic electrolyzed water softened the dentin more than the other solutions, especially in the outer layers, while neutral electrolyzed water caused minimal damage similar to sodium hypochlorite.
Practical Takeaway
This laboratory study suggests that if electrolyzed water were to be used as a dental disinfectant, its acidity level would be critical—neutral versions appear safer for tooth structure than acidic versions. However, this is a test-tube study using extracted teeth, not human studies, so it's unclear how these findings would apply to actual dental treatment in living patients.
Abstract
Background/purpose: Electrolyzed water has been identified as an effective disinfectant that could represent as an alternative to sodium hypochlorite. Unfortunately, it remains unclear whether the texture or physical properties of dentin are affected by the application of electrolyzed water of different acidities. This study was aimed to assess the influence of electrolyzed waters with differing pHs on the demineralizing of inner dentin. Materials and methods: The coronal superficial dentin of 20 human molars was exposed and further bisected into two pieces perpendicular to the dentin surface. The samples were immersed in strongly acidic electrolyzed water (AW group), neutral electrolyzed water (NW group), 5% sodium hypochlorite (positive control, NL group), or deionized water (negative control, DW group). Microhardness of the inner layer dentin was measured at a depth of 25 and 50 μm beneath the superficial surface layer every 5 up to 60 min. Results: At a depth of 25 μm, microhardness decreased with increasing immersion time in all but the DW group. The AW group exhibited a decreasing trend from the first 5 min that became significant after 35 min of immersion and was the most rapid decrease in the four groups. The rate of decline in the NW group was low and similar to that of the NL group. Both NW and NL groups exhibited significantly less demineralization than the AW group after 15 min of immersion. No significant microhardness change was found at a depth of 50 μm in any of the samples. Conclusion: AW produces a more pronounced softening of dentin than NW at a depth of 25 μm.