Zinc Amount in Dental Enamel can be a Potential Factor of Severe Tooth Wear.

Abstract

Objective of the study was to assess the potential role of zinc and copper in the process of severe enamel wear. Methods: Three groups of dental enamel samples were analyzed: 50 from subjects with worn dentition, 20 from healthy volunteers in vivo and 15 healthy teeth cut longitudinally into seven layers in vitro. The amounts of Ca, Mg and Zn in the enamel bioptates were established using atomic absorption spectroscopy with an air/acetylene flame after acid biopsy technique had been applied. The concentration of Cu was established using an electrothermic method with argon gas on the AA spectrometer. Results : Mean values of calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) did not differ between all the analyzed specimens. The mean value of zinc amount was very high in the samples obtained from worn teeth comparing to the healthy teeth. Statistically significant difference was confirmed between mean value of zinc amount in severe worn dentition and all the layers in vitro and in vivo. Strong positive relationships between magnesium and zinc contents have been shown at some depths. Significant difference was registered between the amount of copper in the severely worn dentitions compared to the superficial layer of the healthy teeth in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion: It was found that zinc amount was considerably different when comparing worn dentition and healthy teeth. It appears that zinc metabolism may play an important role in enamel formation and may influence the enamel resistance to wear after tooth eruption.