Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Energética y de los Materiales, Universidad de Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain.
Department of Biology, Saint Michael's College, Colchester, VT 05439, USA.
J R Soc Interface. 2020 Nov;17(172):20200613. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2020.0613. Epub 2020 Nov 4.
Comparative laboratory sliding wear tests on extracted human molar teeth in artificial saliva with third-body particulates demonstrate that phytoliths can be as effective as silica grit in the abrasion of enamel. A pin-on-disc wear testing configuration is employed, with an extracted molar cusp as a pin on a hard disc antagonist, under loading conditions representative of normal chewing forces. Concentrations and sizes of phytoliths in the wear test media match those of silica particles. Cusp geometries and ensuing abrasion volumes are measured by digital profilometry. The wear data are considered in relation to a debate by evolutionary biologists concerning the relative capacities of intrinsic mineral bodies within plant tissue and exogenous grit in the atmosphere to act as agents of tooth wear in various animal species.
在人工唾液中对提取的人磨牙进行的比较实验室滑动磨损测试表明，植硅体与硅砂一样，可以有效地磨损牙釉质。采用销盘磨损测试配置，用人磨牙牙尖作为销在硬盘对跖上，在代表正常咀嚼力的加载条件下进行。磨损测试介质中的植硅体浓度和尺寸与硅砂颗粒相匹配。通过数字轮廓仪测量牙尖几何形状和随之产生的磨损体积。磨损数据与进化生物学家关于植物组织内固有矿物质和大气中外来砂粒在各种动物物种中作为牙齿磨损剂的相对能力的争论有关。
