Objectives: Pulp is one of the main tissue of teeth. Physiologically, it is essential for growth and functional loading of a tooth. For example, odontaoblast, one of the main cell types found in the pulp, is well known for providing the function of dentin formation. However, due to its soft property, the mechanical role of pulp tissue was ignored in clinical dentistry. Recently, clinical finding indicated that pulpless teeth demonstrate weaker strength than healthy ones. The mechanism of such clinical phenomenon are still unclear. Methods: To better understand the mechanical role of pulp in a tooth, Young's modulus of pulp specimens extracted from human molars were tested by a DMA testing machine. Furthermore, histomorphologic images of the tested pulp that were coronally sectioned and stained with standard HE staining were observed under a light-microscope. The ratio of predentin thickness to the diameter of the whole section of pulp, which was defined as predentin thickness of each specimen was calculated. Results: Our results indicated that the mean elastic modulus of molar was 19.013°"14.00 kPa. in addition, strong correlation( p°'0.05) were found between the elastic modulus and the predentin thickness with a R2 value of 0.9502. Conclusion: These results showed that predentin plays an important role in the mechanical properties of a pulp. The data obtained from this study will serves as an important references for future endodontic treatment and investigation of related filling materials.

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Back to the IADR/AADR/CADR 82nd General Session (March 10-13, 2004)

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