Relative Rates of Progress of Artificial Carious Lesions in Bovine, Ovine and Human Enamel

Abstract

Artificial carious lesions were produced by a gelatin/lactic acid system in deciduous bovine, permanent bovine, deciduous human and permanent human enamel over periods up to 8 days, and the progress measured by dye imbibition studies. Artificial carious lesions were produced in bovine, ovine and human permanent enamel using a diphosphonate/lactic acid system over periods up to 30 days, progress was assessed by depth measurement, and overall diffusion coefficients were calculated. The rate of lesion progress was linear with the square root of time for both systems of assessment. Lesion progress as measured by dye imbibition was in the ratio 3.7: 2.9: 1.5:1.0 for bovine deciduous: bovine permanent: human deciduous: human permanent, respectively. Bovine permanent, ovine permanent and abraded bovine permanent lesions progressed at equal rates and in the ratio 3.0: 1.0 to human permanent enamel, as measured by overall diffusion coefficients. The results provide an approximate basis for the use of bovine, ovine and human artificial carious lesion data in the quantitative discussion of the caries process.

Bovine teeth as substitute for human teeth in dental research: a review of literature

“…Therefore, 68 papers were included in the final review. The studies covered seven main categories: morphology (5 studies) (22)(23)(24)(25)(26), chemical composition (11 studies) (27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37), physical properties (12 studies) (38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49), dental caries (7 studies) (6,9,(50)(51)(52)(53)(54), dental erosion/abrasion (10 studies) (55)(56)(57)(58)(59)(60)(61)(62)(63)(64), bonding/adhesive strength (17 studies) (65)(66)(67)(68)…”

“…Common examples are primate (5), bovine (6), swine (7,8), equine (9), and shark teeth (10). However, bovine teeth have been the most widely used substitute for human teeth in dental studies and their use has dramatically increased in the last 30 years.…”

Changes in elastic modulus of adhesive and adhesive-infiltrated dentin during storage in water

“…Mineral distribution in the carious lesions of bovine teeth is reportedly similar to that in human teeth, and structural changes in human and bovine teeth are similar (14). On the other hand, a three-fold faster rate of caries progression has been found for bovine enamel as compared to human enamel (15). In addition, polishing of the enamel was necessary to create flat specimen surfaces for ultrasound measurement.…”

Dental caries: a dynamic disease process

“…5,[12][13][14] The acids produced include lactic, acetic, formic and propionic, all of which have been shown to readily dissolve the mineral of the enamel and dentine. 2,15,16 Bacteria which produce acid as a by-product of their metabolism are known as acidogenic, and some, such as the groups named above, are aciduric and can live in an acid environment.…”