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Updated: Jul 5, 2026
Microhardness Measurements on Tooth and Alveolar Bone in Rodent Oral Disease Models
Published on: April 26, 2024
Relationship between nanohardness and mineral content of artificial carious enamel lesions
W Buchalla1, T Imfeld, T Attin
1Department of Preventive Dentistry, Periodontology and Cariology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. wolfgang.buchalla@zzmk.uzh.ch
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to compare cross-sectional nanohardness, measured using an ultra-microindentation system, with mineral content, from transversal microradiography, of artificial enamel caries lesions. Sections (85 +/- 10 microm) from 16 bovine enamel samples with artificial caries were prepared. The mineral content and cross-sectional nanohardness at known depths from the surface were compared. Both methods showed lesion profiles with a surface layer. The determination of nanohardness seems limited to lesions with a mineral content >45 vol%. There was a moderate linear relationship between mineral content and the square root of nanohardness (R2 = 0.81). It was concluded that the conversion of cross-sectional hardness into mineral content remains questionable and cannot be recommended.
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