How it works and clinical effectiveness
SDF penetrates infected dentine,43 making the lesion twice as hard as healthy dentine.44 It produces a dense superficial layer and fills in micro-cavities with solid metallic silver.45 It also acts directly on the plaque biofilm,46,47 inhibiting bacterial growth.48,49 Removing carious tissue before SDF application is not necessary as it does not improve caries arrest.50
SDF has been shown to have some effect in preventing carious lesions in primary teeth, with one review showing that, by applying it at least once per year, 61% of new caries lesions might be prevented.51 SDF is clinically effective as well as cost-effective, and has the advantage of combined use with all other caries management techniques.51,52