Nanoscale effects of beverages on enamel surface of human teeth: An atomic force microscopy study. (October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Panpan; Oh, Chungik; Kim, Hongjun; Chen-Glasser, Melodie; Park, Gun; Jetybayeva, Albina; Yeom, Jiwon; Kim, Hoon; Ryu, Jeongjae; Hong, Seungbum
• Is Part Of: Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials. Volume 110(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-10
• Subjects: Enamel -- Soft drinks -- Surface roughness -- Elastic modulus -- Atomic force microscopy; Biomedical materials -- Periodicals; Biomedical materials -- Mechanical properties -- Periodicals; Biomedical materials; Biomedical materials -- Mechanical properties; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 610.28
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2020.103930
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1751-6161

Abstract

Abstract: Dental erosion has become a prevalence disease and attracted increasing attention worldwide. In this research, we quantitatively evaluate the mechanical and morphological changes in the very early stages of softening and weakening of human enamel surfaces induced by soft drinks using atomic force microscopy (AFM). With an increase of the immersion time in soft drinks, we found a significant increase of surface roughness ( R q ) of the enamel surface. The prismatic structure of enamel was clearly observed after a 1-h immersion in Coca-Cola®, which shows its strong erosion effect. According to the elastic modulus mapping images obtained by AFM, a considerable decrease of elastic modulus ( E ) of enamel surface has been found as the enamel surface structures are etched away by soft drinks. A high surface roughness of enamel will result in a high chance of cavities due to easier bacterial adhesion on rougher surface, while a drastic deterioration of the mechanical properties of the enamel will weaken its protection property. Our findings show the serious influence of acidic drinks on enamel surface at the very beginning stage of etching process, which is quite meaningful for people to prevent dental erosion and keep dental health.