Polyphenols for Preventing Dental Erosion in Pre-clinical Studies with in situ Designs and Simulated Acid Attack

Dental erosion is a chemical process characterized by acid dissolution of dental hard tissue, and its etiology is multifactorial. Dietary polyphenols can be a strategy for dental erosion management, collaborating to preserve dental tissues through resistance to biodegradation. This study describes a comprehensive review to interpret the effects of polyphenols on dental erosion of pre-clinical models with in situ designs and simulated acid attacks on enamel and dentin samples. We aim to evaluate evidence about Polyphenols' effects in the type of dental substrate, parameters of erosive cycling chosen in the in situ models, and the possible mechanisms involved. An evidence-based literature review was conducted using appropriate search strategies developed for main electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, LILACS, EMBASE, LIVIVO, CINAHL, and DOSS) and gray literature (Google Scholar). The Joanna Briggs Institute checklist was used to evaluate the quality of the evidence. From a total of 1900 articles, 8 were selected for evidence synthesis, including 224 specimens treated with polyphenols and 224 control samples. Considering the studies included in this review, we could observe that polyphenols tend to promote a reduction in erosive and abrasive wear compared to control groups. However, as the few studies included have a high risk of bias with different methodologies and the estimated effect size is low, this conclusion should not be extrapolated to clinical reality.