What is The Hardest Substance in The Human Body?

September 3, 2020
What is the hardest substance in the human body?

What is the hardest substance in the human body?

The hardest substance in the body contains up to 96% of minerals. The rest is composed of water and other organic materials. The primary mineral in this substance is hydroxyapatite, which is crystalline calcium phosphate. Once fully formed this substance does not contain blood vessels or nerves.

In humans, this substance varies in thickness but averages up to 2.5 mm at its thickest part. The color varies often from a light yellow to a grayish (blueish) white. The large amount of minerals in this substance not only accounts for its strength but also for its brittleness. On the Mohs hardness scale, it ranks a 5 out of 10.

Do you know what it is?

It’s Enamel!

Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the body.

Enamel is formed on the tooth while the tooth is developing within the gum before it erupts into the mouth. Tooth enamel is one of the four major tissues that make up the tooth in humans and many other animals, including some species of fish. It normally makes up the visible part of the tooth, covering the crown. The 3 other tissues that make up the tooth are dentine, cementum, and dental pulp. Remineralization of teeth can partially repair minor damage to the tooth, but any damage beyond that cannot be repaired by the body. The Young’s Modulus scale is a measure of the stiffness of a solid material. Enamel has a Young’s Modulus of 83 GPa. Enamel does not contain collagen, as found in other hard tissues such as dentin and bone, but it does contain two unique classes of proteins: amelogenins and enamelins. While the role of these proteins is not fully understood, it is believed that they aid in the development of the enamel by serving as a framework for minerals to form.

Can you rebuild tooth enamel?

The hardest substance in the body is tooth enamel. Tooth enamel is not a living tissue so it can’t be naturally regenerated like the other tissues in our body. When our skin breaks, it heals. We cut our hair and nails, and they grow back. Even our broken bones mend back together. That is because those tissues in our body are living. Tooth enamel can’t be rebuilt, but it can be remineralized. Acid from food and drinks draws calcium and phosphates away from the tooth which weakens the enamel. Special toothpastes and mouthwashes can actually push calcium and phosphates back into the tooth which hardens the enamel back up. The fluoride in the toothpaste and mouthwash captures minerals from the saliva and forces them back into the tooth.

Is tooth enamel harder than diamond?

Tooth enamel is not harder than a diamond. A material or mineral hardness The Mohs’ scale is a scale of hardness used in classifying minerals. Using a series of different minerals and positions, the Mohs scale is a rough measure of the resistance of a smooth surface to scratching on a scale of 1 to 10. Diamonds are the hardest natural material. Tooth enamel scores a 5 on the Moh’s hardness scale. This means that your teeth are harder than gold, silver iron, and even steel! There are a handful of different hardness tests and scales including the Vickers hardness test, the Brinell scale, and the Janka hardness test.

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