Enamel samples that were treated with EDTA for 2, 4, 7, and 24 hours respectively, were examined by a scanning electron microsope and were compared to the appearance of sound, untreated enamel. The following features were noted: a preferential decalcification pattern of EDTA on enamel prisms, characteristics of a superficial region of enamel suggestive of the "prismless" zone, differences in prisms from the striae of Retzius when compared with those in intervening areas, and enamel surface characteristics suggestive of a "coating" or cuticle resembling enamel matrix.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Retzius, A.: Microscopic Investigation of the Structure of Teeth, Arch Anat Physiol1:486, 1837.
2.
Bodecker, C.F. : Fundamentals of Dental Histology and Embryology Including Clinical Applications, New York, Columbia University Press, 1940, p. 33.
3.
Noyes, F.B. ; Schour, I.; and Noyes, H.J.: Dental Histology and Embryology, 5th ed, Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger, 1942 , p 92.
4.
Orban, B.: Oral Histology and Embryology, H. Sicher (ed), 5th ed, St. Louis : C. V. Mosby Co., 1962, p 55.
5.
Provenza, D.V. : Oral Histology, Inheritance and Development , Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1964, p 200.
6.
Meckel, A.H.; Griebstein, W.J.; and Neal, B.J. : Structure of Mature Human Dental Enamel As Observed by Electron Microscopy , Arch Oral Biol10:775-783, 1965.
7.
Hoffman, R., and Gross, L.: Microstructure of Dental Enamel, I. Organization and Contour of Prisms , J Dent Res46 :1444-1455, 1967 .
8.
Frank, R.M., and Nalbandian, J.: Structural and Chemical Organization of Teeth, A. E. W. Miles (ed), Vol I, New York: Academic Press, 1964, pp 452-453.
9.
Poole, D.F.G., and Brooks, A.W.: The Arrangement of Crystallites in Enamel Prisms, Arch Oral Biol5:14-26, 1961
10.
Sharpe, A.N. : Influence of Crystallite Orientation in Human Enamel on its Reactivity to Acid as Shown by High Resolution Microradiography , Arch Oral Biol12:583-591, 1967.
11.
Gwinnett, A.J. : The Ultrastructure of the "Prismless" Enamel of Deciduous Teeth, Arch Oral Biol11:1109-1115, 1966.
12.
Gwinnett, A.J. : The Ultrastructure of the "Prismless" Enamel of Permanent Human Teeth, Arch Oral Biol12:381-387, 1967.
13.
Ripa, L.W.; Gwinnett, A.J.; and Buono-Core, M.G. : The "Prismless" Outer Layer of Deciduous and Permanent Enamel, Arch Oral Biol11:41-48, 1966.
14.
Sognnaes, R. : The Organic Elements of the Enamel, J Dent Res29:260-269, 1950. 15. Jansen, M.T., and Vissnef, J.B.: Permeable Structures in Normal Enamel, J Dent Res29:622-632, 1950.
15.
Schour, I., and Hoffman, M.M.: Studies in Tooth Development, J Dent Res18: 91-102, 1939.
16.
Gustafson, A.G.: A Morphologic Investigation of Certain Variations in the Structure and Mineralization of Human Dental Enamel, Odont T67:361-472, 1959.
17.
Boyde, A.: The Development of Enamel Structure, Proc Royal Soc Med60:923-928, 1967.
18.
Poole, D.F.G. , and Johnson, N.W.: The Effects of Different Demineralizing Agents on Human Enamel Surfaces Studies by Scanning Electron Microscopy, Arch Oral Biol12:1621-1634, 1967 .
19.
Hoffman, S. ; McEwan, W.S.; and Drew, C.M.: Scanning Electron Microscopy Studies of Dental Enamel, J Dent Res48: 242-250, 1969.
20.
Boyde, A.: The Structure of Developing Mammalian Dental Enamel, Tooth Enamel , Bristol: John Wright and Sons, Ltd., 1965, pp 163-167.
21.
Hinrichsen, C.F.L., and Engel, M.B.: Fine Structure of Partially Demineralized Enamel, Arch Oral Biol11:65-93, 1966.
22.
Darling, A.I.: Mechanisms of Hard Tissue Destruction, R. F. Sognnaes (ed), Washington, DC: Amer Assn Advan Sci, 1963, pp 171-186.
23.
Nylen, M.U. : Tooth Ultrastructure in Relation to Mineralization , Demineralization, and Remineralization, Int Dent J17 :719-733, 1967.
24.
Boyde, A., and Lester, K.S.: The Structure and Development of Marsupial Enamel Tubules, Zeitschrift für Zellforschung82: 558-576, 1967.
25.
Scott, D.B. , and Nylen, M.U.: "The Metabolism of Oral Tissues," in Changing Concepts in Dental Histology, Ann NY Acad Sci85:133-144, 1960.
26.
Sundstrom, B., and Zelander, T.: On the Morphological Organization of the Organic Matrix of Adult Human Enamel After Decalcification, Odont Rev3:249-263, 1968.
27.
Fearnhead, R.W. : Recent Observations on the Structure of Developing Enamel, Proc of the 9th ORCA Congress, Oxford : Pergamon Press, 1963, pp 257-264.
28.
Fearnhead, R.W. : "The Insoluble Organic Component of Human Enamel," Tooth Enamel, Bristol: John Wright and Sons, Ltd., 1963, pp 127-131.
29.
Ussing, M.J. : The Development of the Epithelial Attachment , Acta Odont Scand13:123-154, 1955.
30.
Meckel, A.H. : The Formation and Properties of Organic Films on Teeth, Arch Oral Biol10:585-597, 1965.
31.
McGaughey, C., and Stowell, E.C.: The Adsorption of Human Salivary Proteins and Porcine Submaxillary Mucin by Hydroxyapatite, Arch Oral Biol12:815-828, 1967.
32.
Termine, J.D. : Amorphous Calcium Phosphate : The Second Mineral of Bone, PhD thesis, Cornell University, 1966.
33.
Harper, R.A. , and Posner, A.S.: Measurement of Non-Crystalline Calcium Phosphate in Bone Mineral, Proc Soc Exp Biol Med122:137-142, 1966.
34.
Termine, J.D. , and Posner, A.S.: Amorphous/Crystalline Interrelationships in Bone Mineral, Calif Tissue Res1:8-23, 1967
35.
Eastoe, J.E. : The Changing Nature of Developing Dental Enamel , Brit Dent J121: 451, 1966.
