A Method for Diagnosis of Mechanical Strength of Tooth Enamel

牙釉质是人体内最坚硬、矿化程度最高的组织。由于矿化组织中的磷灰石成分具有晶体结构，因此X射线衍射可用于分析微/纳米尺度结构。组织中的晶体结构是决定牙齿宏观结构强度的重要因素。在加载条件下，对完整表面的牙齿标本进行X射线应变测量。通过X射线照射区域的精确定位来进行牙齿表面的高精度测量。这种非破坏性的方法有望用于牙科诊断。

The tooth enamel is the hardest and most highly mineralized tissue in the human body. As apatite components in mineralized tissue have crystalline structure, X-ray diffraction can be used to analyze the micro/nano-scale structure. The crystal structure in the tissue is an important factor to determine the strength of macroscopic tooth structure. The X-ray strain measurements were conducted on tooth specimens with intact surfaces under loading. Highly accurate measurements of surfaces of teeth were performed by precise positioning of the X-ray irradiation area. This non-destructive method is expected to use in the dental diagnoses.