Comparative evaluation of caries arrest potential of silver diamine fluoride gel with conventional solution form in primary teeth- A randomized controlled trial.

Thirty-eight percent silver diamine fluoride (SDF) has been found to arrest carious lesions, but multiple applications are more effective than a single treatment. Although safe, the liquid form of SDF is difficult to control in young children, increasing the possibility of inadvertent exposure of the soft tissues. Moreover, SDF solution is bitter and has a metallic taste, and children who have many teeth to be treated may respond negatively to the taste. A gel version of 38% SDF became available in the United States in early 2023 and in 2022 in India. A few in vitro studies using SDF gel have been reported in the literature. SDF gel has been shown to exhibit less cytotoxic effect compared to Kidz-e and Fagamin and can be considered the best choice for arresting caries in primary and permanent teeth. To date, the clinical studies on dental caries arrest potential of SDF gel are limited. Also, the clinical/in-vivo studies comparing the caries arrest potential of novel silver diamine fluoride gel with conventional solution in primary teeth are scarce. Hence, this study is planned to compare caries arrest potential between the SDF gel and the solution form on the dentinal lesions in primary teeth in children