Int J Oral Biol.  2017 Dec;42(4):155-161. 10.11620/IJOB.2017.42.4.155.

Quantitative Analysis of Tooth Mineral Content by High Resolution Micro-computed Tomography

• Song DS
• Kim JW
• Hwang HS
• Oh SH
• Song JH
• Kim IS
• Hwang YC
• Koh JT

• KMID: 2404839
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.11620/IJOB.2017.42.4.155

Abstract

Teeth and bones are highly mineralized tissues containing inorganic minerals such as calcium phosphate, and a growing number of evidences show that their mineral content is associated with many diseases. Although the quantification of mineral contents by micro-computed tomography(micro- CT) has been used in diagnosis and evaluation for treating bone diseases, its application for teeth diseases has not been well established. In this study, we attempted to estimate a usefulness of a high-resolution micro-CT in analysis of human teeth. The teeth were scanned by using the Skyscan 1172 micro-CT. In order to measure tooth mineral content, beam hardening effect of the machine was corrected with a radiopaque iodinecontaining substance, iodoacetamide. Under the maximum resolution of 6.6 µm, X-ray densities in teeth and hydroxyapatite standards were obtained with Hounsfield unit (HU), and they were then converted to an absolute mineral concentration by a CT Analyzer software. In enamel layer of cusp area, the mean mineral concentration was about 2.14 mg/mm³ and there was a constant mineral concentration gradient from the enamel surface to the dentinoenamel junction. In the dentin of middle 1/3 of tooth, the mean mineral concentration was approximately 1.27 mg/mm³ and there was a constant mineral concentration gradient from the outer of root to the pulp side, ranging from 1.3 to 1.06 mg/mm³. In decay region of dentin, the mineral content was gradually decreased from the intact inner side to the decayed surface. These results suggest that high-resolution micro-CT can be as a useful tool for non-invasive measurement of mineral concentration in teeth.

Keyword

Micro-CT; Mineral concentration; Tooth

MeSH Terms

Bone Diseases
Calcium
Dental Enamel
Dentin
Diagnosis
Durapatite
Humans
Iodoacetamide
Minerals
Miners*
Tooth*
Calcium
Durapatite
Iodoacetamide
Minerals