Fig 1.
The schematic illustration of the experimental process.
Reprinted from Created with BioRender.com, under a CC BY license, with permission from BioRender, original copyright 2024.
Fig 2.
Mean lesion depth of the SDF test groups and the SDF-free group at baseline and post-cycling time points.
* Differences in mean lesion depth between baseline and post cycling, p<0.05, (Wilcoxon Signed ranks test). The percentage change of lesion depth is indicated by triangles (mean ± SD). Red and green triangles indicate significant differences among the test groups and the control, p<0.001 (One-way ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc correction).
Fig 3.
Mean mineral density of the SDF test groups and the SDF-free group at baseline and post-cycling time points.
* Differences in mean mineral density between baseline and post cycling, p<0.05, (Paired t-test). The percentage change of mineral density (mean ± SD) is indicated by triangles. Red and green triangles indicate significant differences among the test groups and the control, p<0.001 (One-way ANOVA and Games-Howell post-hoc correction).
Fig 4.
Typical X-ray diffraction patterns of the dentin of the three SDF treated groups and the control group.
Note the reduced AgCl peak (triangle) of the control group compared with the SDF-treated test groups.
Table 1.
The viability of S. mutans and C. albicans (log CFU/ml) and the wet weight of dual-species biofilms (mg) of the experimental and the control groups after the pH-cycling procedure.
Fig 5.
Dual-species biofilms of S. mutans and C. albicans on the dentin surface after pH cycling study showing sparse biofilm development on SDF exposed dentin and profuse interkingdom biofilms on the control SDF free control samples (bottom panel); white triangle: Streptococcus mutans; white arrow: Candida albicans; circle: Aggregates of streptococci.
Fig 6.
Representative SEM images of the dentin surface topography of the three SDF test groups and the SDF-free group.
Appearance of the dentin surface after removing the biofilm, after 7 days of pH cycling experiments. The exposed dentinal tubule orifices are clearly visible.