The origin of remarkable resilience of human tooth enamel

Authors

Xiaoli Zhao, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Simona O'Brien, Edith Cowan University
Jeremy Shaw
Paul Abbott
Paul Munroe
Daryoush Habibi, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Zonghan Xie, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow

Document Type

Journal Article

Publisher

American Institute of Physics

Faculty

Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science

School

School of Engineering

RAS ID

16169

Comments

Zhao, X. , O'Brien, S. , Shaw, J., Abbott, P., Munroe, P., Habibi, D. , & Xie, Z. (2013). The origin of remarkable resilience of human tooth enamel. Applied Physics Letters, 103(24), 241901. Available here

Abstract

The mechanical properties of human tooth enamel depend not only on test locations but also on the indentation depth. However, it remains uncertain what roles the depth-dependant properties play in mechanical performance of enamel. Here we reveal that a change in the mechanical properties of enamel, in particular its strength, with increasing indentation depth promotes inelastic deformation in material. In doing so, the severity and extent of stress concentration is reduced. Furthermore, we observed that following unloading, self-recovery occurs in enamel. These findings improve our understanding of the underlying mechanisms responsible for the remarkable resilience of enamel.

DOI

10.1063/1.4842015