Infiltration, a new therapy for masking enamel white spots: a 19-month follow-up case series.

Abstract

Enamel white spot lesions are frequent and can impact patients' quality of life. The most conservative treatment in such cases is microabrasion, a technique that presents some drawbacks. The proposed strategy is not based on the elimination of dysplastic enamel, but on masking the lesion by infiltrating the porous subsurface enamel with a hydrophobic resin that has a refraction index closer to that of sound enamel, after permeating the non-porous surface enamel through hydrochloric acid erosion. Erosion-infiltration approaches have been proposed to treat initial caries, but this report suggests extending it to two novel indications: fluorosis and traumatic hypo-mineralization lesions. Four cases were treated by erosion infiltration following the original protocol. They were followed up clinically at several intervals during a period of 19 months of clinical service. The clinical results, although not perfect, satisfied the patients entirely. Erosion infiltration could be a promising alternative for minimally invasive treatment in similar situations.