I have heard from many people saying that teeth are formed in the same way as a bone, that is, bone tissue. But this is not so!
The tooth is made up of 4 tissues, from the outside to the inside: enamel, dentin, pulp and cement. Each of these has a different function and composition.
The enamel is of utmost importance since it is the hardest tissue of the tooth, this is so to be able to cushion the impacts made, for example, when chewing, among others. It is acellular (that is why once lost it does not regenerate), avascular and lacks innervation.
Its color, unlike what many believe, is not white, but is translucent, revealing the color of dentin, which is yellowish.
And as I said before, it is not made of bone tissue, so what is enamel made of? Water- Organic matter- Inorganic matter
-Water makes up 3%.
-Organic matter is made up of molecules made by living beings based on carbon (such as proteins, carbohydrates, etc.). And it is only found in 2% of the enamel.
-Inorganic matter is not made of carbon and they are not manufactured by living beings, but by nature in chemical reactions where we obtain, for example, salts and minerals. It is forming 95% of the enamel and is responsible for the great hardness of the tissue.
Specifically in the enamel, the inorganic matter that forms it are the hydroxyapatite crystals (Ca5 (PO4) 3 (OH)) that when joined form prisms. Each of these prisms is shaped like a lock, that is, a head and a tail. The prisms in turn will also be joined but not randomly, but in a gear system as can be seen in the photo, which provides even more resistance.
Although these prisms are resistant to impacts, they are not resistant to the action of acids, that is, they are soluble in them. That is why you have to moderate your consumption (alcoholic beverages, citrus, soft drinks, etc.) and then brush your teeth well. Failure to take these precautions the crystals would be lost and thus also the mechanical properties of the enamel.
I hope you liked this post, soon I will be uploading more curiosities like this one. Regards.