A simple, sensitive and non-destructive technique for characterizing bovine dental enamel erosion： attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

摘要

Although many techniques are available to assess enamel erosion in vitro, a simple, non-destructive method with suf fi cient sensitivity for quantifying dental erosion is required. This study characterized the bovine dental enamel erosion induced by various acidic beverages in vitro using attenuated total re fl ection Fourier transform infrared(ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Deionized water(control) and 10 acidic beverages were selected to study erosion, and the p H and neutralizable acidity were measured.Bovine anterior teeth(110) were polished with up to 1 200-grit silicon carbide paper to produce fl at enamel surfaces, which were then immersed in 20 m L of the beverages for 30 min at 37 °C. The degree of erosion was evaluated using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and Vickers' microhardness measurements. The spectra obtained were interpreted in two ways that focused on theν_1, ν_3phosphate contour: the ratio of the height amplitude of ν_3PO_4to that of ν_3PO_4(Method 1) and the shift of the ν_3PO_4peak to a higher wavenumber(Method 2). The percentage changes in microhardness after the erosion treatments were primarily affected by the p H of the immersion media. Regression analyses revealed highly signi fi cant correlations between the surface hardness change and the degree of erosion, as detected by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy(Po0.001). Method 1 was the most sensitive to these changes, followed by surface hardness change measurements and Method 2. This study suggests that ATRFTIR spectroscopy is potentially advantageous over the microhardness test as a simple, non-destructive, sensitive technique for the quanti fi cation of enamel erosion.