Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Pathogenic Tooth Pulp Calcifications

Abstract

Denticles (pulp stones) are formed of dentin or dentin-like tissue as a result of the crown and root pulp mineralisation. The etiological factors of pathogenic mineral formation in the pulp have not yet been studied. The aim of the study is to determine the physico-chemical characteristics of pulp stones (denticles) from patients of the Ural region. Due to the small size of the samples, the local analytical methods were used for the study: SEM-EDS, LA-ICP-MS and Raman microspectroscopy. According to X-ray phase analysis and Raman spectroscopy, the phase composition of denticle mineral component is carbonate-hydroxyapatite. For the first time, the information on the organic denticle component corresponding to collagen has been obtained by Raman spectroscopy. Elemental analysis by SEM-EDS and LA-ICP-MS has indicated the presence of a number of essential (sodium, magnesium, potassium, chlorine, sulfur, zinc) and toxic (lead, barium) elements in the composition of pulp stones. The trace element composition of denticles may indicate the development of inflammatory processes and the state of oxidative stress in the pulp, leading to the initiation of a pathogenic mineralisation reaction.