Quantitative evaluation of masking effect of resin infiltration on developmental defects of enamel.

OBJECTIVE: Qualitative developmental defects of enamel (DDEs) are characterized by an intact hypermineralized surface enamel layer and a porous subsurface hypomineralized layer. This structure is similar to natural early caries lesions, which are effectively arrested by resin infiltration, a micro-invasive clinical procedure. An additional reported effect in early enamel caries is recovery of enamel translucency. Due to structural similarities, a similar mechanism is expected in qualitative DDEs. The objective of the present study was to observe quantitative color masking of qualitative DDEs when subjected to resin infiltration. METHOD AND MATERIALS: A total of 70 selected enamel defects were subjected to resin infiltration in a nonrandomized study design. Each defect was subjected to photographic imaging using a digital camera both pre- and post-intervention. Each image was assessed using ImageJ digital software (National Institutes of Health) for CIE L*a*b coordinates. RESULTS: There were significant changes observed in L*a*b coordinates of all DDEs, when subjected to resin infiltration. CONCLUSION: The resin infiltration intervention was successful in masking the "white" opaque discolorations of developmentally affected enamel.