Resumen

GUTIERREZ-SALAZAR, M. P  y  REYES-GASGA, J. ENAMEL HARDNESS AND CARIES SUSCEPTIBILITY IN HUMAN TEETH . Rev. LatinAm. Met. Mat. [online]. 2001, vol.21, n.2, pp.36-40. ISSN 0255-6952.

This paper presents a comparative study of enamel hardness in teeth of human beings with different susceptibility to caries disease. Six orthodontic patients were classified as high or low caries risk, on the basis of caries experience. Then by taking transversal ground sections of premolar from classified patients hardness measurements were made. The hardness values found for sound enamel VHN 268 - 375 are in agreement with published data. The lower hardness values corresponded to high caries risk patients. The mean of VHN between the high and low caries risk groups differ significantly. The differences found in this study show a relationship of hardness enamel with high susceptibility to caries disease.

Palabras clave : Enamel; microhardness; caries susceptibility.