Low‐Concentration Mineralization‐Promoting Peptide‐3–Containing Slurries Compared With Casein Phosphopeptide–Amorphous Calcium Phosphate on Demineralized Permanent Enamel: An Exploratory Ex Vivo Study

BACKGROUND: Casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate is a biomimetic remineralizing agent but is unsuitable for individuals with a milk-protein allergy. This exploratory ex vivo study compared low-concentration slurries containing mineralization-promoting peptide-3, sodium fluoride plus mineralization-promoting peptide-3, vehicle cream or casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate on demineralized enamel. METHODS: Forty-eight permanent molars were randomly allocated to four groups. Formulations were applied as 0.1% weight/volume slurries once daily for 10 days after 28-day pH cycling. Surface microhardness was measured at baseline, after demineralization and on Days 5 and 10. Micro-computed tomography grey-level units were assessed at baseline, after demineralization and on Day 5. Between-group comparisons used surface microhardness change and percentage recovery. RESULTS: No significant between-group differences were detected for surface microhardness change on Day 5 (p = 0.126) or Day 10 (p = 0.412), or for percentage recovery on Day 5 (p = 0.543) or Day 10 (p = 0.406). All groups showed significant recovery from post-demineralization to Day 10. Grey-level units increased descriptively in all groups by Day 5. CONCLUSIONS: Under this low-concentration model, all formulations produced partial surface microhardness recovery without evidence of differential efficacy. The findings are exploratory and do not demonstrate equivalence or clinical effectiveness.