Fabrication and characterisation of composites materials similar optically and in composition to native dental tissues

This study investigated the luminescence characteristics of synthesized biocomposites similar in organic and mineral composition to native dental tissues, enamel and dentine. It was found that the luminescence spectrum of intact enamel is similar to that of calcium hydroxyapatite (HAP) used to synthesize biomimetic materials. Despite the morphological differences between the synthesized biocomposite and native tissue, their luminescence spectra suggest that the shape of the luminescence spectrum is more influenced by defects in the crystal structure of the employed hydroxyapatite than by the structure and order of the apatite nanocrystals typical of native dental tissues. The spectrum of intact human dentine possessed a wider luminescence band, unlike that of enamel, with a maximum typical of intact dentine. Analysis of the spectra of biomimetic material modelling the properties of dentine indicated that both the organic and non-organic components contribute to their luminescence. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.