Structure of the so-called 'prismless' enamel in human deciduous teeth.

Abstract

The surface enamel of human deciduous teeth showing a more negative birefringence by polarized light was investigated by differential interference contrast microscopy and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) following EDTA etching. Though this surface enamel has been generally called the 'prismless' enamel, in this study, the so-called 'prismless' enamel was categorized into 'false', 'moderate', 'essential' and 'complex' types according to whether they took the form of distinct prisms which bended at the subsurface, indistinct circularly based prisms or not. Based on the SEM observations some types of the 'prismless' enamel showed parallel crystallites and no prism boundaries. However, if indistinct prisms showing centripetal crystallites within the circular boundaries are admitted into the prismless enamel, other types except the 'false' one will generally belong to it.