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Elastic Modulus and Mineral Density of Dentine and Enamel in Natural Caries Lesions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Amanpreet K. Bembey ,
Michelle L. Oyen ,
Ching-Chang Ko ,
Andrew J. Bushby  and
Alan Boyde
Amanpreet K. Bembey
Affiliation:
Department of Materials, Queen Mary, University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
Michelle L. Oyen
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Ching-Chang Ko
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Andrew J. Bushby
Affiliation:
Department of Materials, Queen Mary, University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
Alan Boyde
Affiliation:
Dental Institute, Queen Mary, University of London, London E1 1BB, UK
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Abstract

Dental tissues have been reported to show a considerable decrease in both their mineral content and mechanical properties in carious lesions. The changed properties of dentine and enamel have been shown to be dependent on crystal size and not only mineral content [1], although the connectivity between the mineral crystals has been overlooked. Teeth with carious lesions were sectioned, embedded in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and diamond polished. Nanoindentation and quantitative backscattered electron imaging were used to determine relationships between the elastic modulus and mineral density of sound and carious regions within dentine and enamel. The changes in elastic modulus with decreased mineralization for dentine and enamel could not be explained by simple composite mechanics expressions relating elastic modulus and mineral volume fraction. Finite element modeling of dentine and enamel as a two-phase composite material at the ultrastructure level were used to demonstrate how changes in the mineral phase connectivity can produce changes in the elastic modulus. Tissue models for enamel, in which the mineral phase is both the major component of the structure (∼ 85% by volume) and highly interconnected, were consistent with the modulus of sound enamel. The drastic change in enamel modulus with a relatively small change in mineral volume fraction could be modeled as a decrease in mineral phase connectivity at nearly constant volume fraction. The more gradual trend in the dentine data was also consistent with a structure that is initially highly connected in the mineral phase, consistent with the known structure of dentine, and for which the change in modulus is more directly related to changes in mineral content than mineral connectivity.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 874: Symposium l – Structure and Mechanical Behavior of Biological Materials , 2005 , L5.15
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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