The Effect of Organic Flaxseed Paste on The Colorimetric Parameters of Demineralized Tooth Surface

Marlene Azlia Abd Raffur, Izzati Mohd Shaharuddin, Luay Thanoon Younis

Objective: The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of flaxseed paste on the surface lightness (L), chroma (C) and hue (h) of extracted teeth. Materials and Methods: Thirty extracted human teeth (incisors and canines) were selected and grouped into control (no treatment), flaxseed (treatment) and fluoride (positive control) groups. Teeth in control group were placed in saline throughout the experiment, whilst the teeth in flaxseed and fluoride groups were immersed in a carbonated drink for two days to induce demineralisation prior to the treatment using fluoride toothpaste and 1gm/ml of freshly prepared flaxseed paste respectively. The values L, C and h were measured at 3 stages (initial, during treatment, after treatment) using a spectrophotometer. Computerized digital imaging analyses were performed using Photoshop CS6 software (Adobe, San Jose, CA, USA). Statistical analyses were performed using repeated measures ANOVA. Results: At the final reading, spectrophotometric analysis showed decrease in L in both positive control and test groups. Fluoride was more effective, but not significant, in reducing the lightness (L=55.69 ± 5.38, p=0.070) than flaxseed (L=67.60 ± 5.34, p=0.070). The mean C value was higher in flaxseed group (C=2.75 ± 2.73, p=0.010) compared to fluoride group (C=2.78 ± 2.73, p=0.010). In contrast, the mean h value for flaxseed group was much lower (h=121.50 ± 10.53, p=0.000) when compared to fluoride group (h=260.02 ± 10.53, p=0.000). Conclusion: Flaxseed paste has shown to be effective in reducing L. Although fluoride toothpaste produced obvious decrease in L, organic flaxseed paste shows promising effect in alleviating surface lightness, hence enhancing tooth surface mineralisation that may be explored further in future research.