LBN, Univ. Montpellier, 545 Avenue Professeur Jean-Louis Viala, 34193 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
LBN, Univ. Montpellier, 545 Avenue Professeur Jean-Louis Viala, 34193 Montpellier Cedex 5, France; UFR Odontologie, Univ. Montpellier, Montpellier, France; CSERD, CHU Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
Arch Oral Biol. 2022 Sep;141:105487. doi: 10.1016/j.archoralbio.2022.105487. Epub 2022 Jun 16.
The tufts of human dental enamel are structures located at the enamel-dentin junction and whose origin has not been clearly established. Although studies have highlighted their protein content and hypomineralization, none has been able to shed light on their 3D structure. The aim of this study was to reveal the whole structure using high-resolution conventional microtomography.
Ten adult mandibular first and second molars and two primary mandibular first molars were sectioned and scanned with microcomputed tomography with a resolution between 4.7 and 5 micrometers. By determining the threshold discriminating dentin and tufts, we were able to reconstruct 3D meshes.
We revealed the exact pattern of the tufts in adult molars and discovered their distribution, their dynamics, and the existence of a regular undulation, forming a particular angle of approximately 30 degrees with the dentin surface. A spatial frequency of approximately 160 micrometers would be compatible with the variation in the orientation of groups of dental enamel rods. In contrast, the present setting is not sufficient to extract similar information for primary teeth.
Enamel tufts have a specific pattern, with an oriented draped form and are regularly spaced. The possible connection between these undulations and the Hunter-Schreger bands (diazonias and parazonias) needs to be studied.
人牙釉质的束状结构位于釉牙本质界，其起源尚未明确。虽然已有研究强调了其蛋白质含量和低矿化特性，但都未能揭示其 3D 结构。本研究旨在使用高分辨率常规微断层扫描技术来揭示其整体结构。
对 10 颗成人下颌第一和第二磨牙以及 2 颗下颌乳第一磨牙进行切片，并使用分辨率在 4.7 至 5 微米之间的微计算机断层扫描进行扫描。通过确定区分牙本质和束状结构的阈值，我们能够重建 3D 网格。
我们揭示了成人磨牙中束状结构的确切模式，并发现了它们的分布、动态以及存在规则的波动，与牙本质表面形成约 30 度的特殊角度。大约 160 微米的空间频率与牙釉质杆组的取向变化相匹配。相比之下，目前的设置不足以提取乳牙的类似信息。
牙釉质束状结构具有特定的模式，呈定向披覆形式，且有规律地间隔排列。需要研究这些波动与 Hunter-Schreger 带（正带和负带）之间的可能联系。
