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These overlapping fibers form the dental enamel in the tooth of a mouse. The enamel is the outermost part of a tooth and is what gives a tooth its structure and strength.
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These overlapping fibers form the dental enamel in the tooth of a mouse. The enamel is the outermost part of a tooth and is what gives a tooth its structure and strength.
What am I looking at?
This is an electron microscopy image of a mouse tooth that has been briefly exposed to acid, revealing the structure of the enamel.
Biology in the background
Brushing your teeth is a lifelong habit that will help keep your teeth clean and white but will also keep your dental enamel strong. Enamel is the hard outer layer of your teeth; it acts as a barrier, protecting the inner part of your teeth (the dental pulp). The physical, chemical, and temperature stress that eating and drinking put on teeth could cause major damage to the soft tissues and nerves in them if it were not for the outer enamel. In fact, your tooth enamel is the hardest substance in your body – even stronger than your bones.
In a mouse, this enamel layer is about 100 micrometers thick, or slightly thicker than the width of a human hair.
Technique
This image was created using electron microscopy.
Olivier Duverger and Maria I. Morasso, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases