Besnard Cyril, Marie Ali, Sasidharan Sisini, Harper Robert A, Shelton Richard M, Landini Gabriel, Korsunsky Alexander M
MBLEM, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PJ, Oxfordshire, UK.
School of Dentistry, University of Birmingham, 5 Mill Pool Way, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7EG, West Midlands, UK.
Dent J (Basel). 2023 Apr 7;11(4):98. doi: 10.3390/dj11040098.
Hard dental tissues possess a complex hierarchical structure that is particularly evident in enamel, the most mineralised substance in the human body. Its complex and interlinked organisation at the Ångstrom (crystal lattice), nano-, micro-, and macro-scales is the result of evolutionary optimisation for mechanical and functional performance: hardness and stiffness, fracture toughness, thermal, and chemical resistance. Understanding the physical-chemical-structural relationships at each scale requires the application of appropriately sensitive and resolving probes. Synchrotron X-ray techniques offer the possibility to progress significantly beyond the capabilities of conventional laboratory instruments, i.e., X-ray diffractometers, and electron and atomic force microscopes. The last few decades have witnessed the accumulation of results obtained from X-ray scattering (diffraction), spectroscopy (including polarisation analysis), and imaging (including ptychography and tomography). The current article presents a multi-disciplinary review of nearly 40 years of discoveries and advancements, primarily pertaining to the study of enamel and its demineralisation (caries), but also linked to the investigations of other mineralised tissues such as dentine, bone, etc. The modelling approaches informed by these observations are also overviewed. The strategic aim of the present review was to identify and evaluate prospective avenues for analysing dental tissues and developing treatments and prophylaxis for improved dental health.
坚硬的牙齿组织具有复杂的层次结构，这在牙釉质中尤为明显，牙釉质是人体矿化程度最高的物质。其在埃（晶格）、纳米、微米和宏观尺度上复杂且相互联系的组织结构是机械和功能性能（硬度和刚度、断裂韧性、热稳定性和化学稳定性）进化优化的结果。要理解每个尺度上的物理 - 化学 - 结构关系，需要应用灵敏度和分辨率合适的探针。同步加速器X射线技术提供了显著超越传统实验室仪器（即X射线衍射仪、电子显微镜和原子力显微镜）能力的可能性。在过去几十年里，已经积累了从X射线散射（衍射）、光谱学（包括偏振分析）和成像（包括叠层成像和断层扫描）中获得的结果。本文对近40年的发现和进展进行了多学科综述，主要涉及牙釉质及其脱矿（龋齿）的研究，但也与其他矿化组织（如牙本质、骨骼等）的研究相关。还概述了基于这些观察结果的建模方法。本综述的战略目标是确定和评估分析牙齿组织以及开发改善牙齿健康的治疗方法和预防措施的潜在途径。
