A portable fiber-optic raman spectrometer concept for evaluation of mineral content within enamel tissue

2017

BACKGROUND Measurement of tooth enamel mineralization using a clinically viable method is essential since variation of mineralization may be used to monitor caries risk or in assessing the effectiveness of remineralization therapy. Fiber optic Raman systems are becoming more affordable and popular in context of biomedical applications. However, the applicability of fiber optic Raman systems for measurement of mineral content within enamel tissue has not been elucidated significantly in the prior literature. MATERIAL AND METHODS Human teeth with varying degrees of enamel mineralization were selected. In addition alligator, boar and buffalo teeth which have increasing amount of mineral conten…