The Design, Build and Validation of a Realistic Artificial Mouth Model for Dental Erosion Research

摘要

This work investigated the design parameters necessary for the build and use of an in vitro artificial mouth model built for dental erosion research. It also ascertained the working knowledge of dentists concerning the Human Tissue Act (HTA) and explored an alternative tissue for erosion-testing to human enamel. The design inputs for the artificial mouth were acquired by an innovative observational study conducted upon human volunteers and used in the decisions made in the setting of the fluids’ kinematic behaviour and how the associated devices were to function. This novel system was sought to mimic the interaction of saliva and the dental substrate during the process of consuming an erosive beverage. The model allows researchers to gather data using customizable experimental diets without the technical burden of dealing with a non-realistic regime. The design and build of the artificial mouth model along with its associated equipment and parameters are described and a manual for operation of the model is appended. The device is designed on a fully adjustable multitask basis in which the operator can set several variables such as the desirable salivary kinematic behaviour, offensive beverage flow rate, and volume of consumption. This, subsequently, allows the samples preloaded on the system to be tested for surface characteristics (i.e. surface hardness and surface profilometry) to determine the extent of erosion if any. The model also allows the resultant solution to be analysed for traces of calcium and phosphate ions. To validate the capabilities of the artificial mouth system a set of diets was performed repeatedly. The high degree of agreement and the consistency of results showed that the model is able to mimic realistic scenarios and is capable of producing reliable, reproducible and accurate outcomes. Ostrich eggshell proved to be a potential alternative erosion substrate which is fortuitous as the lack of knowledge on the HTA had meant human enamel was less readily available.