Mechanical behavior of enamel rods under micro-compression

Applications of scanning electron microscopy and focused ion beam milling in dental research

The abilities of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and focused ion beam (FIB) milling for obtaining high-resolution images from top surfaces, cross-sectional surfaces, and even in three dimensions, are becoming increasingly important for imaging and analyzing tooth structures such as enamel and dentin. FIB was originally developed for material research in the semiconductor industry. However, use of SEM/FIB has been growing recently in dental research due to the versatility of dual platform instruments that can be used as a milling device to obtain low-artifact cross-sections of samples combined with high-resolution images. The advent of the SEM/FIB system and accessories may offer access to previously inaccessible length scales for characterizing tooth structures for dental research, opening exciting opportunities to address many central questions in dental research. New discoveries and fundamental breakthroughs in understanding are likely to follow. This review covers the applications, key findings, and future direction of SEM/FIB in dental research in morphology imaging, specimen preparation for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis, and three-dimensional volume imaging using SEM/FIB tomography.

Discrete element models of tooth enamel, a complex three-dimensional biological composite

Enamel, the hard surface layer of teeth, is a three-dimensional biological composite made of crisscrossing mineral rods bonded by softer proteins. Structure-property relationships in this complex material have been difficult to capture and usually require computationally expensive models. Here we present more efficient discrete element models (DEM) of tooth enamel that can capture the effects of rod decussation and rod-to-interface stiffness contrast on modulus, hardness, and fracture resistance. Enamel-like microstructures were generated using an idealized biological growth model that captures rod decussation. The orthotropic elastic moduli were modeled with a unit cell, and surface hardness was captured with virtual indentation test. Macroscopic crack growth was also modeled directly through rupture of interfaces and rods in a virtual fracture specimen with an initial notch. We show that the resistance curves increase indefinitely when rod fracture is avoided, with the inelastic region, crack branching, and 3D tortuosity being the main sources of toughness. Increasing the decussation angle simultaneously increases the size of the inelastic region and the crack resistance while decreasing the enamel axial modulus, hardness, and rod stress. In addition, larger contrasts of stiffness between the rods and their interfaces promote high overall stiffness, hardness, and crack resistance. These insights provide better guidelines for reconstructive dental materials, and for development of bioinspired hard materials with unique combinations of mechanical properties. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Enamel is the hardest, most mineralized material in the human body with a complex 3D micro-architecture consisting of crisscrossing mineral rods bonded by softer proteins. Like many hard biological composites, enamel displays an attractive combination of toughness, hardness, and stiffness, owing to its unique microstructure. However few numerical models explore the enamel structure-property relations, as modeling large volumes of this complex microstructure presents computational bottlenecks. In this study, we present a computationally efficient Discrete-element method (DEM) based approach that captures the effect of rod crisscrossing and stiffness mismatch on the enamel hardness, stiffness, and toughness. The models offer new insight into the micromechanics of enamel that could improve design guidelines for reconstructive dental materials and bioinspired composites.

The Materials of Mastication: Material Science of the Humble Tooth

Dental functional morphology, as a field, represents a confluence of materials science and biology. Modern methods in materials testing have been influential in driving the understanding of dental tissues and tooth functionality. Here we present a review of dental enamel, the outermost tissue of teeth. Enamel is the hardest biological tissue and exhibits remarkable resilience even when faced with a variety of mechanical threats. In the light of recent work, we progress the argument that the risk of mechanical degradation across multiple scales exhibits a strong and continued selection pressure on structural organization of enamel. The hierarchical nature of enamel structure presents a range of scale-dependent toughening mechanisms and provides a means by which natural selection can drive the specialization of this tissue from nanoscale reorganization to whole tooth morphology. There has been much learnt about the biomechanics of enamel recently, yet our understanding of the taxonomic diversity of this tissue is still lacking and may form an interesting avenue for future research.

Nanostructured Ti surfaces and retinoic acid/dexamethasone present a spatial framework for the maturation and amelogenesis of LS-8 cells

PURPOSE

To investigate the amelogenesis-inductive effects of surface structures at the nanoscale. For this purpose, variable nanostructured titanium dioxide (TiO2) surfaces were used as a framework to regulate the amelogenic behaviors of ameloblasts with the administration of retinoic acid (RA)/dexamethasone (DEX).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

TiO2 nanotubular (NT) surfaces were fabricated via anodization. Mouse ameloblast-like LS-8 cells were seeded and cultured on NT surfaces in the presence or absence of RA/DEX for 48 h. The amelogenic behaviors and extracellular matrix (ECM) mineralization of LS-8 cells on nanostructured Ti surfaces were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscope, laser scanning confocal microscope, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, MTT assay, and flow cytometry.

RESULTS

TiO2 NT surfaces (tube size ~30 and ~80 nm) were constructed via anodization at 5 or 20 V and denoted as NT5 and NT20, respectively. LS-8 cells exhibited significantly increased spread and proliferation, and lower rates of apoptosis and necrosis on NT surfaces. The amelogenic gene expression and ECM mineralization differed significantly on the NT20 and the NT5 and polished Ti sample surfaces in standard medium. The amelogenic behaviors of LS-8 cells were further changed by RA/DEX pretreatment, which directly drove maturation of LS-8 cells.

CONCLUSION

Controlling the amelogenic behaviors of ameloblast-like LS-8 cells by manipulating the nanostructure of biomaterials surfaces represents an effective tool for the establishment of a systemic framework for supporting enamel regeneration. The administration of RA/DEX is an effective approach for driving the amelogenesis and maturation of ameloblasts.