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Updated: Jul 14, 2026
Sampling and Pretreatment of Tooth Enamel Carbonate for Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Analysis
Published on: August 15, 2018
The use of micro-Raman spectroscopy to differentiate between sound and eroded primary enamel
Fiona Gilchrist1, Ario Santini, Kathryn Harley
1Edinburgh Postgraduate Dental Institute - Paediatric Dentistry, Edinburgh, UK. fiona.gilchrist@yahoo.co.uk
Objective:
The aim of this study was to investigate differences in phosphate group concentration between areas of sound and eroded enamel in primary teeth using micro-Raman spectroscopy (MRS).
Methods:
The Raman spectroscopic technique enables researchers to obtain information about molecules by analysing scattered light caused by monochromatic laser excitation. Ten extracted anterior primary teeth with areas of sound and eroded enamel were used. Three, 10-s scans were carried out at three points along a 3-microm linear area in both sound and eroded primary enamel, and Raman spectra were obtained with the LabRam 300 fitted with an Olympus BX40 microscope. Scanning electron microscopy was used to confirm the presence of sound and eroded enamel on each tooth.
Results:
The phosphate nu(1) band was located between 958.5 and 967.0 cm(-1). There was no statistically significant difference between the area under the phosphate nu(1) band values for the eroded and sound areas (P = 0.7302). Scanning electron microscopy confirmed the presence of sound and eroded areas on all specimens.
Conclusion:
In this study, there was no statistically significant difference found between phosphate group concentration in eroded and sound primary enamel when analysed by MRS.
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