NEW INVESTIGATION OF TOOTH ENAMEL’S NANOSTRUCTURE VIA CAMERALESS T-RAY IMAGING TECHNIQUE

Abstract

The fascinating functions of biominerals such as tooth enamel are presumed to be caused by the spatial and volumic organization of nanoscale building blocks of biominerals. Tooth biominerals, primarily hydroxyapatite, organize themselves in a very precise and hierarchical manner within the different tooth tissues, viz., enamel, dentin, and cementum. This organization is crucial for the tooth's strength, hardness, and overall function. Biominerals organization involves self-assembly, interfacial organization, and others. Here, we report results obtained from the new nonionizing, cameraless T-ray imaging, accessing the sub-surfaces, allowing a new insight into the surface and sub-surface nanostructures across a depth profile of a few millimeters. The cameraless T-ray imaging demonstrates a great potential in nondestructive bioimaging for different kinds of tissue samples including the hard tooth tissue presented herein.