Dental 4 Less, Tooth enamel structure and composition revealed in 3-D nanoscale maps
Using nanoscale technology, researchers have, for the first time, produced detailed 3-D maps of the composition and structure of mature human tooth enamel. The maps show the position of atoms critical to the process of tooth decay.
The team of material and structure engineers and dentists – from the University of Sydney in Australia – produced the 3-D maps using a relatively new microscopy technique called atom probe tomography.
The researchers describe their work in a paper published in the journal Science Advances and suggest it should help improve oral hygiene and to prevent caries or tooth decay.