Driessens F C, Angmar-Mänsson B, Heijligers H J, Whitford G M, Verbeeck R M
Department of Oral Biomaterials, Catholic University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
J Biol Buccale. 1987 Dec;15(4):225-8.
Developing molar teeth of the dog were sectioned, embedded in copper containing polymethyl methacrylate, polished and their Ca/P and Ca/Na molar ratios investigated with the electron microprobe. The teeth were obtained at 30 days from 9 pups fed regimes of different acid-base status with or without fluoride supplementation from birth to sacrifice at 30 days. No clear trends in their Ca/P or Ca/Na ratios with variation in the diet were observed. However, evaluation of the Ca/P ratio of the enamel as a function of depth revealed that this ratio was 0.80 +/- 0.15 at the mineralization front. This suggests that in enamel brushite rather than octacalcium phosphate is the precursor phase of the mineral.
