Journal
JOURNAL OF DENTAL RESEARCH
Volume 87, Issue 7, Pages 645-649Publisher
INT AMER ASSOC DENTAL RESEARCHI A D R/A A D R
DOI: 10.1177/154405910808700711
Keywords
dental enamel; fracture toughness; hardness; structure; hydroxyapatite
Categories
Funding
- NIDCR NIH HHS [R01 DE016703, R01 DE016703-01A1, R56 DE016703, R01 DE016376, DE16703, R56 DE016376, DE016376] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Dental enamel is comprised primarily of carbonated apatite, with less than 1% w/w organic matter and 4-5% w/w water. To determine the influence of each component on the microhardness and fracture toughness of rat incisor enamel, we mechanically tested specimens in which water and organic matrix were selectively removed. Tests were performed in mid-sagittal and transverse orientations to assess the effect of the structural organization on enamel micromechanical properties. While removal of organic matrix resulted in up to a 23% increase in microhardness, and as much as a 46% decrease in fracture toughness, water had a significantly lesser effect on these properties. Moreover, removal of organic matrix dramatically weakened the dentino-enamel junction (DEJ). Analysis of our data also showed that the structural organization of enamel affects its micromechanical properties. We anticipate that these findings will help guide the development of bio-inspired nanostructured materials for mineralized tissue repair and regeneration.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available