The common morphological metrics of size, shape, and enamel thickness of teeth are believed to reflect the functional requirements of a primate's diet. However, the mechanical and material properties of enamel also contribute to tooth function, yet are rarely studied. Substantial wear and tooth loss previously documented in Lemur catta at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve suggests that their de...

PURPOSE Enamel hypoplasia is of interest to both the clinician and the basic scientist because it may indicate an increased risk for caries and can contribute to the understanding of enamel development. The purpose of this paper is to report the prevalence of enamel hypoplasia and isolated enamel opacities in a cohort of healthy, well-nourished children in Iowa. METHODS The study sample consi...

OBJECTIVE To test and describe the use of various combinations of mechanical and chemical techniques for enamel reduction to obtain a smooth surface. METHODS Bovine teeth (2 surfaces on each of 32 teeth) were used. The teeth were mounted in blocks of dental plaster, which were then mounted in a vise. The mesiodistal enamel contact areas were reduced by various combinations of mechanical and c...

The teeth of the Homo erectus child (Garba IV) recovered from Melka Kunture Ethiopia and dated to 1.5 Ma are characterized by generalized enamel dysplasia, reduced enamel radio-opacity, and severe attrition. This combination of features is found in a large group of hereditary, generalized enamel dysplasias known as amelogenesis imperfecta (AI). SEM studies carried out on epoxy replicas of teeth...

The idea to compile the present collection of articles on the topic on dental enamel formation and maturation was born in the course of a discussion over a glass of wine during the 11th International Conference on the Chemistry and Biology of Mineralized Tissues (ICCBMT) in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in November 2013. Both of us felt that several issues specific to the mineralization of enamel dese...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate whether mechanical alteration of the enamel surfaces with air abrasion and bur abrasion techniques could enhance the bonding performance of a three step and a self etching adhesive resin systems to enamel. METHODS 126 extracted lower human incisor teeth were used. The teeth were divided into three groups including 40 teeth each. Fi...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the bond strength of three adhesive systems: Excite™, Adper Prompt L-Pop™ and AdheSE One™ to varying degrees of fluorotic enamel using micro-tensile bond strength (μTBS) tests. Human enamel was classified according to the Thylstrup and Fejerskov Index. The interface resin-enamel was observed using stereoscopic and electron microscopy. The Excite™, achieved ...

OBJECTIVES Detailed clinical quantification of optical properties of developmental defect of enamel is possible with spectrophotometric evaluation. Developmental defects of enamel (DDE) are daily encountered in clinical practice. DDE are an alteration in quality and quantity of the enamel, caused by disruption and/or damage to the enamel organ during amelogenesis. METHODS Several clinical ind...

We present a combined novel methodology to study the three-dimensional complex geometry of a tortuous crack and identify the essential features of the crack and its propagation inside a heterogeneous material. We find that some severe damage events occur unexpectedly below a local mode-I crack within the sample; we realize that the severe plastic zone of the local mode-I crack is shifted down b...

Enamel pearls are anatomical structures that can bring about clinical implications if associated with the retention of plaque, in turn resulting in periodontal disease. In an attempt to avoid periodontal disease, the removal and treatment of these enamel pearls, may be a necessity in some circumstances. A total of 45,785 extracted teeth from a human teeth bank were analyzed for the presence of ...