The aim of this work was to verify the existence of correlation between Raman spectroscopy readings of phosphate apatite (~960 cm-1), fluoridated apatite (~575 cm-1) and organic matrix (~1450 cm-1) levels and Diagnodent® readings at different stages of dental caries in extracted human teeth. The mean peak value of fluorescence in the carious area was recorded and teeth were divided in enamel ca...

Unlike other mineralized tissues, mature dental enamel is primarily (> 95% by weight) composed of apatitic crystals and has a unique hierarchical structure. Due to its high mineral content and organized structure, enamel has exceptional functional properties and is the hardest substance in the human body. Enamel formation (amelogenesis) is the result of highly orchestrated extracellular process...

The synchronized cyrstal dissolution hypothesis previously proposed to explain the unusual dissolution behavior of human dental enamel and hydroxyapatite in partially saturated acidic media has been critically examined with dissolution-dialysis transport experiments. The findings are in accord with the hypothesis. A model based upon a variable effective solubility for the hydroxyapatite crystal...

Dental sealants are important for prevention of carious lesions, if they have good shear strength. The aim of this study was to evaluate the shear bond strength (SBS) of two sealants to saliva-contaminated and non-contaminated enamel with and without an intermediate adhesive layer underneath the sealant. Ninety flat enamel surfaces from human third molars were randomly assigned to 6 groups (n=1...

The bond strength between enamel and resin depends on achieving an etching pattern on the enamel surface which allows the resin to penetrate into the enamel and form tags. Silverstone et al. (1975) have described three basic etching patterns of human dental enamel using phosphoric acid solution. Type I etching pattern is related to the removal of the prism core material with the prism peripheri...

Healthy dental enamel is the hardest and most highly mineralized human tissue. Though acellular, nonvital, and without capacity for turnover or repair, it can nevertheless last a lifetime. Amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) is a collective term for failure of normal enamel development, covering diverse clinical phenotypes that typically show Mendelian inheritance patterns. One subset, known as hypoma...