DOI: 10.1177/0022034508330055. Fracture Modes in Human Teeth

10.1177/0022034508330055

Crossref journal-article

SAGE Publications

Journal of Dental Research (179)

Abstract

The structural integrity of teeth under stress is vital to functional longevity. We tested the hypothesis that this integrity is limited by fracture of the enamel. Experiments were conducted on molar teeth, with a metal rod loaded onto individual cusps. Fracture during testing was tracked with a video camera. Two longitudinal modes of cracking were observed: median cracking from the contact zone, and margin cracking along side walls. Median cracks initiated from plastic damage at the contact site, at first growing slowly and then accelerating to the tooth margin. Margin cracks appeared to originate from the cemento-enamel junction, and traversed the tooth wall adjacent to the loaded cusp from the gingival to the occlusal surface. All cracks remained confined within the enamel shell up to about 550 N. At higher loads, additional crack modes—such as enamel chipping and delamination—began to manifest themselves, leading to more comprehensive failure of the tooth structure.

Bibliography

Lee, J. J.-. W., Kwon, J.-Y., Chai, H., Lucas, P. W., Thompson, V. P., & Lawn, B. R. (2009). Fracture Modes in Human Teeth. Journal of Dental Research, 88(3), 224â228.

Authors 6

J.J.-.W. Lee (first)
J.-Y. Kwon (additional)
H. Chai (additional)
P.W. Lucas (additional)
V.P. Thompson (additional)
B.R. Lawn (additional)

References 32 Referenced 65

10.1016/j.scriptamat.2006.04.034
10.1557/JMR.1999.0514
Ford C, Qasim T, Bush MB, Hu X, Lawn BR (2008). Margin failures in crown-like brittle structures: off-axis loading. J Biomed Mater Res B Appl Biomater 85:23–28. (10.1002/jbm.b.30911)
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10.1177/00220345000790020501
10.1016/S0022-3913(99)70103-4
Kim J-W, Bhowmick S, Chai H, Lawn BR (2007). Role of substrate material in failure of crown-like layer structures. J Biomed Mater Res B Appl Biomater 81:305–311. (10.1002/jbm.b.30666)
10.1007/BF00552240
10.1111/j.1151-2916.1980.tb10768.x
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10.1111/j.1551-2916.2007.01585.x
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10.1002/(SICI)1520-6505(1999)8:4<133::AID-EVAN4>3.0.CO;2-F
10.1159/000143313
Osborn JW (1973). Variation in structure and development of enamel. In: Dental enamel: development, structure and caries. Vol. 3. Melcher AH, Zarb GA, editors. Copenhagen: Munksgaard, pp. 3–84.
10.1177/08959374890030022601
10.1177/00220345980770041201
10.1016/S0003-9969(00)00102-3
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10.1016/j.medengphy.2007.07.006
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10.1111/j.1551-2916.2007.02009.x

Dates

Type	When
Created	16 years, 5 months ago (March 27, 2009, 12:58 a.m.)
Deposited	6 months, 1 week ago (Feb. 28, 2025, 5:03 p.m.)
Indexed	2 weeks ago (Aug. 23, 2025, 9:37 p.m.)
Issued	16 years, 6 months ago (March 1, 2009)
Published	16 years, 6 months ago (March 1, 2009)
Published Online	16 years, 5 months ago (March 26, 2009)
Published Print	16 years, 6 months ago (March 1, 2009)

Funders 0

None

BibTeX

@article{Lee_2009, title={Fracture Modes in Human Teeth}, volume={88}, ISSN={1544-0591}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022034508330055}, DOI={10.1177/0022034508330055}, number={3}, journal={Journal of Dental Research}, publisher={SAGE Publications}, author={Lee, J.J.-.W. and Kwon, J.-Y. and Chai, H. and Lucas, P.W. and Thompson, V.P. and Lawn, B.R.}, year={2009}, month=mar, pages={224–228} }

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  "abstract": "<jats:p> The structural integrity of teeth under stress is vital to functional longevity. We tested the hypothesis that this integrity is limited by fracture of the enamel. Experiments were conducted on molar teeth, with a metal rod loaded onto individual cusps. Fracture during testing was tracked with a video camera. Two longitudinal modes of cracking were observed: median cracking from the contact zone, and margin cracking along side walls. Median cracks initiated from plastic damage at the contact site, at first growing slowly and then accelerating to the tooth margin. Margin cracks appeared to originate from the cemento-enamel junction, and traversed the tooth wall adjacent to the loaded cusp from the gingival to the occlusal surface. All cracks remained confined within the enamel shell up to about 550 N. At higher loads, additional crack modes\u2014such as enamel chipping and delamination\u2014began to manifest themselves, leading to more comprehensive failure of the tooth structure. </jats:p>",
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