The erosion of tooth enamel is a common oral disease.
The erosion
pattern and location and the effects of nanoscale chemical composition
on the erosion susceptibility of enamel have been well documented.
However, the enamel remineralization accompanied by erosion and its
underlying physicochemical mechanisms still remain poorly understood.
Here, using rat molars selected for its good relevancy to human teeth,
we investigated the remineralization behavior of the outermost enamel
surface at the nanoscale level during erosion in diluted hydrochloric
acid solutions. While particles on the outermost enamel surface that
represent the termination of crystallites protruding to the surface
from the near-surface core eroded by acid-attack, the lateral-growth
of the particles (i.e., the main remineralization picture of the surface
enamel) occurred concurrently. Ionic analyses indicate that the particle
growth is driven by the local increase in pH near the eroding enamel
surface as a result of the combination of the PO4
3– and CO3
2– released from the enamel
surface with H+. As the pH increases eventually to the
equilibrium pH level (∼5.5), a local supersaturation of solute
ions is induced, resulting in particle growth. A simple growth model
based on the experimental results together with an assumption that
the particle growth is a diffusional process suggests that the particle
growth rate is controlled by the degree of supersaturation and accommodation
site for solute ions, which are affected by the pH of solution eroding
the enamel surface. The remineralization mechanism presented by our
study can explain how the enamel on being acid-exposed or tooth decay
progress by beverage or food can naturally remineralize in the oral
cavity and how remineralization can foster different surface topology
at the nanoscale, depending on the pH value of etchant before the
dental filling material is applied.
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