DENTAL ENCYLOPEDIA

Educate yourself on variety of dental topics.

Enamel

Enamel is formed by cells called ameloblasts, which originate from the embryonic germ layer known as ectoderm. It covers the anatomic cover of the tooth and varies in thickness in different areas of the tooth. Because enamel is mostly grey and is semitranslucent, the color of the tooth depends upon the color of the underlying dentin, the thickness of the enamel, and the amount of stain within the enamel.

Chemically, enamel is a highly mineralized crystalline structure containing 95% to 98% inorganic matter by weight. Hydroxyapetite, in the form of a crystalline lattice, is the largest mineral constituent and is 90% to 92% by volume. Other minerals and trace elements are contained in smaller amounts. The remaining constituents of tooth enamel are an organic content of about 1% to 2 % and a water content of about 4% by weight, and these total approximately 6% by volume.

Structurally, enamel is composed of millions of enamel rods or prisms, which are the larges structural components.

The hardest structure in the human body is enamel. Hardness may vary over the external tooth surface according to the location of the area.

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