dental enamel

Enamel Composition May Help Predict Tooth Health

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An interesting article titled “Mesoscale structural gradients in human tooth enamel” appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences written by Robert Free and et. al. (vol. 119, no. 52, pp. e2211285119, December 19, 2022). The article explores the hierarchical architecture of human enamel which is integral to the function of human teeth. In the article, discussion is made of how tooth decay has lead to many dental visits due to cavities. There is not much known about how or why many people experience tooth enamel decay or congenital conditions. In the article, the authors used synchrotron X-ray diffraction at submicrometer resolution technology, to observe tiny differences on the order of picometers in the crystallographic parameters of enamel crystallites, which they linked to the presence of ions such as magnesium and sodium or carbonate. Features of enamel at length scales smaller … Read more

How Does Cavity Causing Bacteria Survive?

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Researchers from the University of Basel’s Preventative Dentistry and Oral Microbiology Clinic and Department of Biomedical Engineering have found that extracellular polysaccharides play a central role in the survival capabilities of cavity causing bacteria in dental plaque. These bacteria live in biofilm and cause cavities by attacking dental enamel by converting sugar and starch into acids that dissolve out calcium from the enamel. The dissolution of calcium increases the concentration of calcium locally which creates an environment hostile to bacterial life. The researchers investigated how bacteria manage to survive in dental plaque despite conditions of hostility. They suggested that extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) support the bacteria’s survival capabilities. EPS are substances that build extracellular cariogenic bacteria from sugar residue. These substances create biofilm’s scaffolding and ensure bacteria are able to anchor themselves in  dental plaque. The researchers showed the more that calcium cariogenic … Read more