Age-related changes in ac-impedance spectroscopy studies of normal human dentine

Non-destructive methods, such as the ac-impedance technique, have recently been applied to early caries detection and to identify micro-leakage between tooth structure and filling materials. However, in vitro impedance measurements are affected by a number of external factors. The purpose of present study was to investigate the effect of the age of teeth on impedance measurements of human dentine by employing electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Fully hydrated dentine samples were prepared from extracted third molars of 20 and 50 year old patients. Ac-impedance measurements were carried out over a wide frequency range. Impedance measurements showed that there were differences in impedance between young and older dentine. In their circuit models, both resistance and capacitance were found to be significantly different (p < 0.05) for the two age groups. One of the age-related changes in dentine is the formation of peritubular dentine on the inner walls of dentinal tubules and we propose that this is responsible for the differences in impedance. Sample or patient age therefore must be considered when making impedance measurements on any tooth.