Shallow Fluorine Depth Profiles of Cementum in Periodontal Disease—A Pilot Study

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A nuclear resonant reaction depth profiling technique was used to analyze elemental fluorine distribution in the first 20 μm of human dental cementum. A pilot sample of six periodontally-involved teeth indicated greater levels of fluorine in exposed cementum (0.9→2.4%) compared to cementum apical to the zone of epithelial attachment (0.4→1.1%). Furthermore, the exposed cementum appeared to have fluorine levels within the surface 5 μm comparable to the hyper-mineralized layer previously reported by x-ray diffraction and microprobe techniques. The nuclear resonant reaction is a nondestructive technique which yields useful information of surface elemental distribution as a function of depth, and may be regarded as a potential means of analyzing changes in the inorganic constitution of cementum during various physico-chemical pre-treatments.