Imaging of human tooth enamel using ultrasound

This paper reports the results of a complete circumferential scan of a human tooth and its underlying dentino-enamel junction using ultrasound at frequencies in the 10-MHz range. The imagery shows clearly a two-dimensional contour of the dentino-enamel junction with a depth and lateral resolution of approximately 100 (mu)m and 750 (mu)m, respectively. The resulting sonograph is compared with an optical micrograph of the same tooth to verify the accuracy of the ultrasonic technique. The results are a significant step toward the biolocation of submillimeter size features within the tooth volume.