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Mineralization of dental tissues and caries lesions detailed with Raman microspectroscopic imaging

Das Gupta, Shuvashis LU orcid ; Killenberger, Markus ; Tanner, Tarja ; Rieppo, Lassi ; Saarakkala, Simo LU ; Heikkilä, Jarkko ; Anttonen, Vuokko and Finnilä, Mikko A.J. (2021) In Analyst 146(5). p.1705-1713
Abstract

Dental caries is the most common oral disease that causes demineralization of the enamel and later of the dentin. Depth-wise assessment of the demineralization process could be used to help in treatment planning. In this study, we aimed to provide baseline information for the development of a Raman probe by characterizing the mineral composition of the dental tissues from large composition maps (6 × 3 mm2 with 15 μm step size) using Raman microspectroscopy. Ten human wisdom teeth with different stages of dental caries lesions were examined. All of the teeth were cut in half at representative locations of the caries lesions and then imaged with a Raman imaging microscope. The pre-processed spectral maps were combined into a single data... (More)

Dental caries is the most common oral disease that causes demineralization of the enamel and later of the dentin. Depth-wise assessment of the demineralization process could be used to help in treatment planning. In this study, we aimed to provide baseline information for the development of a Raman probe by characterizing the mineral composition of the dental tissues from large composition maps (6 × 3 mm2 with 15 μm step size) using Raman microspectroscopy. Ten human wisdom teeth with different stages of dental caries lesions were examined. All of the teeth were cut in half at representative locations of the caries lesions and then imaged with a Raman imaging microscope. The pre-processed spectral maps were combined into a single data matrix, and the spectra of the enamel, dentin, and caries were identified by K-means cluster analysis. Our results showed that unsupervised identification of dental caries is possible with the K-means clustering. The compositional analysis revealed that the carious lesions are less mineralized than the healthy enamel, and when the lesions extend into the dentin, they are even less mineralized. Furthermore, there were more carbonate imperfections in the mineral crystal lattice of the caries tissues than in healthy tissues. Interestingly, we observed gradients in the sound enamel showing higher mineralization and greater mineral crystal perfection towards the tooth surface. To conclude, our results provide a baseline for the methodological development aimed at clinical diagnostics for the early detection of active caries lesions.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Analyst
volume
146
issue
5
pages
9 pages
publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry
external identifiers
  • scopus:85102178427
  • pmid:33295890
ISSN
0003-2654
DOI
10.1039/d0an01938k
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © The Royal Society of Chemistry.
id
89cc1043-2885-4e2d-99db-32c7a6828224
date added to LUP
2025-11-17 10:52:20
date last changed
2025-11-22 03:52:55
@article{89cc1043-2885-4e2d-99db-32c7a6828224,
  abstract     = {{<p>Dental caries is the most common oral disease that causes demineralization of the enamel and later of the dentin. Depth-wise assessment of the demineralization process could be used to help in treatment planning. In this study, we aimed to provide baseline information for the development of a Raman probe by characterizing the mineral composition of the dental tissues from large composition maps (6 × 3 mm2 with 15 μm step size) using Raman microspectroscopy. Ten human wisdom teeth with different stages of dental caries lesions were examined. All of the teeth were cut in half at representative locations of the caries lesions and then imaged with a Raman imaging microscope. The pre-processed spectral maps were combined into a single data matrix, and the spectra of the enamel, dentin, and caries were identified by K-means cluster analysis. Our results showed that unsupervised identification of dental caries is possible with the K-means clustering. The compositional analysis revealed that the carious lesions are less mineralized than the healthy enamel, and when the lesions extend into the dentin, they are even less mineralized. Furthermore, there were more carbonate imperfections in the mineral crystal lattice of the caries tissues than in healthy tissues. Interestingly, we observed gradients in the sound enamel showing higher mineralization and greater mineral crystal perfection towards the tooth surface. To conclude, our results provide a baseline for the methodological development aimed at clinical diagnostics for the early detection of active caries lesions.</p>}},
  author       = {{Das Gupta, Shuvashis and Killenberger, Markus and Tanner, Tarja and Rieppo, Lassi and Saarakkala, Simo and Heikkilä, Jarkko and Anttonen, Vuokko and Finnilä, Mikko A.J.}},
  issn         = {{0003-2654}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{1705--1713}},
  publisher    = {{Royal Society of Chemistry}},
  series       = {{Analyst}},
  title        = {{Mineralization of dental tissues and caries lesions detailed with Raman microspectroscopic imaging}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d0an01938k}},
  doi          = {{10.1039/d0an01938k}},
  volume       = {{146}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}