Open AccessEvaluation of enamel crystallites in subsurface lesion by microbeam X‐ray diffraction
Author(s) -
Yagi N.,
Ohta N.,
Matsuo T.,
Tanaka T.,
Terada Y.,
Kamasaka H.,
Too K.,
Kometani T.,
Kuriki T.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of synchrotron radiation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.172
H-Index - 99
ISSN - 1600-5775
DOI - 10.1107/s090904950900449x
Subject(s) - microbeam , crystallite , enamel paint , materials science , x ray , x ray crystallography , lesion , diffraction , optics , crystallography , mineralogy , radiochemistry , chemistry , composite material , metallurgy , medicine , physics , pathology
Early caries lesion is a demineralization process that takes place in the top 0.1 mm layer of tooth enamel. In this study, X‐ray microbeam diffraction was used to evaluate the hydroxyapatite crystallites in the subsurface lesion of a bovine enamel section and the results are compared with those obtained by transversal microradiography, a method commonly used for evaluation of tooth mineral. Synchrotron radiation from SPring‐8 was used to obtain a microbeam with a diameter of 6 µm. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction reports the amount of hydroxyapatite crystals, and small‐angle X‐ray scattering reports that of voids in crystallites. All three methods showed a marked decrease in the enamel density in the subsurface region after demineralization. As these diffraction methods provide structural information in the nanometre range, they are useful for investigating the mechanism of the mineral loss in early caries lesion at a nanometre level.