Effect of Some Polyvalent Cations on the Acidogenicity of Dental Plaque in vivo

Abstract
The effect of different metal ions on the acidogenicity of [human] dental plaque was investigated. Mouthrinsing with 20 mM solutions of SnF2, ZnCl2, AlCl3 and FeCl3 inhibited the metabolic activity of dental plaque for periods up to several hours, whereas the same concentration of MgCl2 showed no such effect but on the contrary tended to increase the acid-formation potential. Sodium chloride (40 mM) had no measurable effect.