Medical Condition and Health

¶ … 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 in a wavy pattern. 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 and starch

• GERD: the acid reflux disease

• Problems of gastrointestinal nature

• Such medications as aspirins and antihistamines

• Inherited problems

• Environmental triggers including friction, stress, tear and wear

The sticky substance that forms between one's teeth is made up of food substances, bacteria and saliva. It infiltrates the inner corners and fissures of the tooth; especially the molars. It finds its way round the tooth cavity fillings and builds around the lining of the gum. Some of the bacteria change the food particles in the teeth spaces into acid (Tooth Enamel: Erosion and Restoration). These acids are responsible for the teeth erosion that occurs. It effectively wears out the enamel.

Preserve/Care/Maintain Enamel

It is known that the enamel does not regenerate. However, dentists offer help to replace worn out minerals of teeth. Two ways exist and are applied to treat teeth that are eroded (The Truth about Tooth Erosion: How to repair tooth enamel?):

• Milder cases of enamel erosion can be treated through bonding. Tinted resin meant to match the color shade of your tooth is put on the damaged tooth and then trimmed so as to fit correctly into your mouth.

• In more acute cases of enamel erosion, a crown is applied. The procedure entails capping a new crown that will guard the areas already damaged. Indeed, a crown, often, restores function to the tooth that is damaged. It is a useful protection against decay too.

It is clear that fruit juices and soda are harmful to teeth. If these drinks can be replaced by a margin of one or two every day, with water, there is a chance that your teeth will be greatly helped; health wise. Swirling liquid such as soda or fruit juice around your mouth, you expose more of your teeth to erosion caused by the ingredients of liquid being swirled. It is advisable to avoid swishing drinks in the mouth (The Truth about Tooth Erosion: How to repair tooth enamel?).