On the systematic documentation of the structural characteristics of bovine enamel: A critic to the protein sheath concept

The common structural description of bovine enamel used in materials science studies – nano-sized hydroxyapatite crystallites form micron-sized prisms surrounded by protein sheaths, which in turn build a complex decussation pattern – overlook many important morphological information. This hampers the correct interpretation of the data determined by mechanical analysis. For a pro found structural description of enamel morphology, the visualization of its building blocks by high-resolution electron microscopy and focused-ion beam tomography technique, which reveals their form, orientation and configuration at different regions of a tooth (cut in different directions), is unde rtaken in this work.
Source: Dental Materials - Category: Materials Science Authors: Source Type: research