About a synthetic saliva for in vitro studies

Numerous artificial salivas have been used during studies in odontology. These salivas have compositions, which are more or less the same as that of natural saliva. In this article, we are presenting a discussion about the various media described in the related literature. A review of nearly 60 artificial salivas was carried out to clarify the role of some of the compounds most frequently met in the proposed formulae. The study focused on the buffer effect, the role played by CO, gas and the presence of calcium ions, hydrogenocarbonates, hydrogenophosphates and thiocyanates. The SAGF medium, which we proposed some years ago, was used as a reference and some in vitro behavioral tests of dental biomaterials were studied in a comparative way. Using the SAGF medium allowed us to specify the mode of fluoride ions release from glass ionomer cements and the corrosion behavior of the dental amalgams. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.