In vitro thermal diffusivity measurements as aging process study in human tooth hard tissues

Abstract

In the present work, the Open Photoacoustic Cell Technique was used to find effective thermal diffusivity of human tooth hard tissues, a thermal variable of great interest in the biological science, and inorganic materials. The aging process of the tooth enamel and dentin was analyzed through its effective thermal diffusivity. The study in vitro of these samples showed an increase and posterior decrease with aging of the samples. The values found for the enamel and dentin samples, varied from (36−55)×10−4 cm2 s−1 and (20−32)×10−4 cm2 s−1, respectively.