¶ … Teeth Enamel and Teeth, Generally
The hardest part of the human body is the tooth. Teeth help to chew and break down food particles into smaller units for easier digestion down the system. Teeth also help humans to articulate language ((Hoffman)). The enamel is the hardest part of a tooth. Calcium phosphate is its primary composition compound.
Enamel Formation and its Strength, Durability
The tooth crown constitutes a cellular material known as enamel. The enamel happens to be the hardest body tissue. The thickness of the material on the tooth depends on the part of the tooth and its shape. The thickest enamel is usually found at the cusp crest and incisal edges. The sloping part, the fissures, the cervix of the tooth, and the various pits of cuspid teeth have the thinner layers. The enamel on an adult human's teeth is high in energy and is home to significant intermolecular forces. It has been referred to by experts as a composite bioceramic. Enamel is rigid and brittle in nature. It has a low tensile strength and a high elasticity modulus. The enamel of the tooth does not regenerate. It is cellular. The enamel prism is the largest structural unit of the enamel. It is compact; densely attached and intertwined...
It extends from the dento-enamel convergence point to a few micrometers before the surface of the tooth (Terry, et.al, 2008). The primary structure of the prisms looks like a key-hole. It measures approximately 0.5 µm. The rods look like rounded heads that form a continuous pattern of interlocked prisms. The prism of the enamel is thin at its base but enlarges as it extends to the surface. It has a diameter of 4.0 µm on average. The prisms are arranged in a parallel fashion to each other. They extend outwards starting from the DEJ in a radial fashion. They are averagely perpendicular to the surface of the crown on the outside. The orientation of the rod in the enamel cusp area is perpendicularly positioned to the DEJ. In the cervical region, there is an apical inclination while in the third part of the occlusal, the prisms make an acute angle relative to the surface while they approach the tip of the crown as it is approached. It exhibits a tendency that is directly antagonistic to the masticulation forces (Terry, et.al, 2008). This knowledge is indispensable in the process of preparing cavity. It will help a dentist avoid injuring the enamel rod. These can easily fracture along the planes of cleavage that run parallel to prisms of enamel.
Why the Enamel Breaks Down
The following can cause the enamel to erode (Tooth Enamel: Erosion and Restoration):
• Consumption of soft drinks without control
• Love for fruit drinks. Some fruit drinks contain extremely erosive acid
• Little salivary flow or dry mouth syndrome, also called xerosomia
• Diet full of sugar…
