IULIANA CREȚESCU*, RALUCA HORHAT*, OANA MUNTEANU*^#, RODICA CAPRIȚĂ**
*“Victor Babeş” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Square, 300041, Timişoara, Romania
**“King Michael I of Romania” Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine from Timișoara, 300654, 119 Calea Aradului Street, Timişoara, Romania

A pH value below 5.5 is considered critical for dental erosion due to chemical processes. This paper investigates physical-chemical characteristics of several fluoride mouth rinses available in Romania. We evaluated the following parameters: pH, surface tension, viscosity, titratable acidity, electrical conductivity and total soluble solids (TSS) content. Five types of mouth rinses, classified according to their fluoride content, were analyzed in triplicate, and the average values were considered for the statistical analysis. All measurements were performed using standardized equipment and methods, whereas statistical analysis was performed using the XLSTAT software, Version 2015.1. Most mouth rinses turned out to be acidic, but only two types were potentially erosive, with pH < 5.5. The effect of the fluoride content on the physical-chemical characteristics of mouth rinses was found very significant: pH – p-value (two-tailed) = 0.0000, surface tension – p-value (two-tailed) < 0.0001, viscosity – p-value (two-tailed) = 0.001) and for TSS content – p-value (two-tailed) = 0.002. Some mouth rinses presented high levels of TSS content and viscosity, which may increase their cariogenic and erosive potential. Our study suggests that mouth rinses have the potential to improve oral health provided that the treatment protocol is designed by a dentist taking into account the physical-chemical properties of the mouth rinse of choice.
Key words: mouth rinse, fluoride, pH, viscosity, surface tension, total soluble solids content.

Corresponding author’s e-mail: oanamnt@gmail.com.

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