By looking at individual atoms in tooth enamel, researchers are learning what happens to our teeth as we age
By looking at individual atoms in tooth enamel, researchers are learning what happens to our teeth as we age
Unlike other materials in the body, tooth enamel has no way to repair damage. Researchers are interested in understanding how enamel changes with age so that they can start to develop methods that can keep teeth healthier for longer.
A research team at the University of Washington and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the US examined the atomic composition of enamel samples from two human teeth – one from a 22-year-old and one from a 56-year-old. The sample from the older person contained higher levels of the ion fluoride, which is often found in drinking water and toothpaste, where it’s added as a way to help protect enamel.
The team published these findings in Communications Materials. While this is a proof-of-concept study, these results have implications for how fluoride is taken up and integrated into enamel as people age, the researchers said.
The team made three samples from each of the two teeth and then compared differences in element composition in three different areas of the enamel structures: the core of a structure; a “shell” coating the core; and, the space between the shells.
In the samples from the older tooth, fluoride levels were higher across most of the regions, but especially in the shell regions.
One thing the researchers are interested in studying is how protein composition of enamel changes over time. Co-senior author Dwayne Arola said: “When we looked at these results, one of the things that was most obvious was actually this distribution of fluoride around the crystalline structure. I don’t think we have a public service announcement yet about how aging affects teeth in general. The jury is still out on that. The message from dentistry is pretty strong: you should try to utilise fluoride or fluoridated products to be able to fight the potential for tooth decay”.
This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, Colgate-Palmolive Company and a distinguished graduate research programme between PNNL and UW.
From: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241219190318.htm
