INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE MINERALIZATION PATTERN OF HUMAN DENTAL ENAMEL

PART III DECALCIFIED SECTION STUDIES

¹ Oral Pathology Department, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, England

1. Comparison of the mineralization and staining patterns of organic enamel matrix reveals only a broad general similarity; both patterns show a sequence of changes which starting in the incisal portion of the amelodentinal junction spreads peripherally and cervically through the enamel.

2. Comparison of the patterns of mineralization and matrix loss shows even less correspondence; here both show a sequence of changes which starting in the incisal enamel extends cervically with increasing maturity.

3. The absence of complete identity between these three patterns limits the value of decalcified sections in the detailed analysis of enamel mineralization.