Enamel microstructural features of bovine and human incisors: A comparative study

Objective: Multiple dental researches show that bovine teeth are potential alternatives to human teeth. However, whereas cattle are herbivore, humans are omnivorous. Consequently, we sought to compare the enamel microstructures of bovine and human teeth in relation to their functional similarity. Materials and methods: Crowns of human and bovine teeth were first cut longitudinally, horizontally and tangentially. The appearance of enamel microstructures under the three dimensions were then analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results: Human and bovine teeth have relatively different enamel microstructure. Bovine enamel exhibits transitional zones between adjacent HSBs bands. In addition, it has abundant interprisms interwoven with prisms. Conclusion: The teeth of the bovine and humans have a similar evolutionary origin, but the differences are attributed to dietary adaptation. Given the closeness of enamel microstructure of two animals' teeth, the bovine teeth could be utilized as an excellent alternative to human teeth in dental researches. (C) 2021 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.