Enamel is the structure that covers the entire clinical crown of a tooth. It enables to chew and crush food, and gives a final shape to the crowns of teeth. To evaluate calcium and magnesium contents in tooth enamel and analyse relationships between the study minerals extracted human permanent teeth were cut at every 150 microns and subjected into acid biopsy. The amounts of calcium and magnesium were assessed in the laboratory using atomic absorption spectroscopy with an air/acetylene flame. The lowest calcium and magnesium contents were found on the enamel surface of the teeth. Statistically significant correlation between the calcium and magnesium concentrations was found at a depth between 150 and 900 µm. Calcium and magnesium contents increased with increasing enamel depth. Calcium and magnesium deposits appeared to be stable through all the enamel layers studied. It would be suggested that mineralization/demineralization affect only external layer of the enamel, whereas deeper layers are not affected by these processes.

ObjectivesThe objectives of the study were to evaluate the content of copper and zinc in individual layers of tooth enamel and to analyze the relationships between the study minerals in individual layers of tooth enamel.Patients and methodsFifteen human permanent teeth were cut off every 150 μm alongside the labial surface. Acid biopsy of each layer was performed. The zinc content was determined using the air–acetylene flame method. The copper content was determined using the electrothermal technique with argon.ResultsThe mean zinc concentrations increased significantly starting from the outer enamel surface, with the maximum concentration in the 150–300 μm layer. The mean copper concentrations increased substantially from the outer enamel surface to a depth of 150 μm, and then a slight downward trend of this mineral levels was seen, down to a depth of 450 μm. Strong positive correlation was found between the zinc and copper concentrations at depths of 150–300, 450–600 and 600–750 μm.ConclusionThe levels of zinc and copper in the outer enamel layers may have an effect on the increased content of unipolar minerals at deeper enamel layers. The content of the study elements determined may reflect the process of mineralization and maturation of enamel in the pre-eruption period.

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Objective of the study was to assess the potential role of zinc and copper in the process of severe enamel wear. Methods: Three groups of dental enamel samples were analyzed: 50 from subjects with worn dentition, 20 from healthy volunteers in vivo and 15 healthy teeth cut longitudinally into seven layers in vitro. The amounts of Ca, Mg and Zn in the enamel bioptates were established using atomic absorption spectroscopy with an air/acetylene flame after acid biopsy technique had been applied. The concentration of Cu was established using an electrothermic method with argon gas on the AA spectrometer. Results : Mean values of calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) did not differ between all the analyzed specimens. The mean value of zinc amount was very high in the samples obtained from worn teeth comparing to the healthy teeth. Statistically significant difference was confirmed between mean value of zinc amount in severe worn dentition and all the layers in vitro and in vivo. Strong positive relationships between magnesium and zinc contents have been shown at some depths. Significant difference was registered between the amount of copper in the severely worn dentitions compared to the superficial layer of the healthy teeth in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion: It was found that zinc amount was considerably different when comparing worn dentition and healthy teeth. It appears that zinc metabolism may play an important role in enamel formation and may influence the enamel resistance to wear after tooth eruption.