Properties of tooth enamel in great apes.
A comparative study has been made of human and great ape molar tooth enamel. Nanoindentation techniques are used to map profiles of elastic modulus and hardness across sections from the enamel-dentin junction to the outer tooth surface. The measured data profiles overlap between species, suggesting a degree of commonality in material properties. Using established deformation and fracture relations, critical loads to produce function-threatening damage in the enamel of each species are calculated for characteristic tooth sizes and enamel thicknesses. The results suggest that differences in load-bearing capacity of molar teeth in primates are less a function of underlying material properties than of morphology.
Lee
James J-W
JJ
Ceramics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA. james.lee@nist.gov
Morris
Dylan
D
Constantino
Paul J
PJ
Lucas
Peter W
PW
Smith
Tanya M
TM
Lawn
Brian R
BR
D000818:Animals; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D006244:Hardness; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D008963:Molar / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014082:Tooth Fractures / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016474:Weight-Bearing / Q000502:physiology