Abrasion Induced Volume Loss in Porcine Teeth Measured Using X-Ray Microtomography

Abstract

Teeth are complex biological structures consisting primarily of enamel and dentin. The mechanical loading of teeth due to the action of brushing provides a complex interaction between applied forces and the biological structure, resulting in volume loss of dental tissue. The volume loss as a resulting of using an ex situ brushing of teeth was measured using x-ray microcomputed tomography (XCT) and corresponding image analyses. Three-dimension reconstructions of teeth reveal a considerably loss of dentin at a rate of over 30 times that of enamel during brushing, as would be expected by the consideration of the corresponding structures. The approach here is flexible and can be applied to a range of brushing, teeth, and environmental conditions.

Measurement of erosion depth using microcomputed tomography and light microscopy

“…Concerning 3D analysis, quantitative light‐induced fluorescence can be used in vivo and in vitro analyzes (Elton, Cooper, Higham, & Pender, 2009), and the confocal laser scanning microscopy can analyze a 3D‐topography (Heurich et al, 2010). In the present study, the use of non‐destructive and tridimensional microCT images indicate the potential use in the analysis of tooth erosion, as was observed also for other alterations as abrasion (Kao et al, 2018), brow spot enamel lesions (Shahmoradi & Swain, 2017), enamel white spot (Huang et al, 2010), or even in the analysis of enamel thickness (Algarni et al, 2016). We emphasize that the microCT methods investigated in our study have not been used in previous studies and have produced valid results for measurements of dental hard tissue loss.…”

“…Micro computed tomography (microCT) has been increasingly utilized as 3D analysis techniques for dental research, including qualitative and quantitative information on material density and structural dimensions (Huang, He, Darendeliler, & Swain, 2010; Kao, Khan, & Barber, 2018; Shahmoradi & Swain, 2017). With appropriate artifacts corrections and calibrations, the technique is useful to study dental hard tissue, for example, in vitro tooth mineral loss and gain experiments following acidic challenge.…”