Objectives: In the United Kingdom Ozone therapy combines the use of ozone gas and adjunct products called reductant and the Patient Kit, which all contain fluoride. We studied the effect of these products with and without the use of ozone in inhibiting demineralisation of human enamel and dentine under a cariogenic challenge in situ. Methods: A single-blind, randomised, three arms, cross-over study design was used. Fourteen volunteers were provided with a lower removable intra-oral appliance carrying one enamel and one dentine slabs. Baseline measurements of enamel and dentine hardness slabs were recorded. The study regime of 14 days of dipping into 10% sucrose solution 5 times a day was applied. The three arms were two test groups Ozone/Reductant/Patient Kit, Reductant/Patient Kit, and a fluoride free toothpaste group as a control. At the end of the 2nd week the slabs were collected, microhardness measured and the differences from the baselines were calculated. Results: There were statistically significant differences in the mean changes of enamel and dentine hardness when both the test groups were compared individually with the control. However, no statistical significant differences in either parameter were found when Ozone/Reductant/Patient Kit group was compared with Reductant/Patient Kit treatment. Conclusions: We conclude from these results that ozone had no additional effect on the inhibition of enamel and dentine demineralisation than when Reductant/Patient Kit, containing high concentrations of fluoride, were used on their own. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
