Nano-mechanical properties profiles across dentin–enamel junction of human incisor teeth

Understanding how load is transferred from enamel to dentin and how the two tissues function as a single mechanical unit during mastication requires studies of micromechanics in relation to microstructure of the dentin–enamel junction (DEJ) zone. In this investigation, nano-hardness and elastic modulus of human incisor teeth were studied across the DEJ. It was found that, over a length scale of about 20 μm, there were decreasing trends in both hardness and elastic modulus across the DEJ zone profiling from enamel to dentin. Images obtained using atomic force microscopy from polished surfaces of cross-sectioned dental samples showed an interpenetrated microstructure of enamel and dentin at the DEJ zone. This result suggests that the nano-mechanical property profiles across the DEJ were due to a continuous variation in the ratios of relative amount of enamel and dentin. These characteristics of the DEJ zone could be significant for describing the structural and mechanical coupling of the two tissues. By increasing the contact area across the interface between the two hard tissues the stresses are dissipated reducing interfacial stress concentrations at the DEJ, thereby promoting effective load transfer from the hard (brittle) enamel to soft (tough) dentin.