A scanning electron-microscopic study of in vitro abrasion of mammalian tooth enamel under compressive loads

Microscopic tooth-wear (microwear) patterns can be an important tool for assessing modes and rates of abrasive tooth wear, but their analysis and interpretation is complicated by the fact that microwear is influenced by many factors. Three of these factors were here tested under conditions of compressive loading: (1) species differences in enamel structure, (2) abrasive particle size and (3) magnitude of force. Teeth of four species (Homo sapiens, Lemur fulvus, Ovis aries and Crocodylus rhombifer) were abraded in vitro using three sizes of abrasive silicon-carbide grit (average diameters 73, 23 and 14 microns), at two loads (50 and 100 kg). Microwear features were assessed by scanning electron microscopy of lightly etched enamel surfaces and epoxy replicas. Microwear pits (length:width < 4:1) were the predominant feature type. Factorial analysis of variance of rank-transformed, feature-area measurements demonstrated that, under conditions of compressive loading, the size of abrasive particles was the primary determinant of microwear size. These results contrast with previous experimental tests of abrasion by predominantly shearing loads, where feature size was influenced by interaction among experimental factors, including the microscopic orientation of enamel crystallites. Although magnitude of compressive force was not a factor in microwear size variation, it may be a critical factor in explaining the presence or absence of microwear on tooth surfaces. The relatively small compressive bite force generated during typical chewing may not consistently produce abrasive pitting. These experiments demonstrate that, as the same abrasive regime can produce both large and small pits, the mechanism by which wear features are formed (i.e. compression or adhesion) cannot be determined from the size of features alone. Nevertheless, the dependence of pit size on abrasive particle size demonstrates that metrical variation in wear features can elucidate important attributes of an animal's diet.