The effect of sodium bicarbonate under pressure used in the prophylaxis of the healthful enamel surface of young permanent teeth was clinically evaluated. Positive reproductions were used, which permitted the analysis before and after the realization of such procedure. The moldings of the vestibular surface of central superior incisives made totalized sixty, which went trough a preparation for the quantitative rugosity analysis of the enamel surfaces. The computer program DIRACOM - 3, that measures the shades and half - shadows of the sample images was used for quantitative analysis for which the scanning electron microscopy was employed. Three experimental groups with twenty children each, who had never been submitted to that technique of prophylaxis were established and molds taken in three moments: Group 1 - before the procedure or control ; Group 2 - immediately after and Group 3 - one month after the treatment ( subgroup 2c ). The quantitative analysis of the data showed that there was not a statistically significant difference between the analyzed groups.
Dental enamel; Dental prophylaxis
