Mapping of the Micro-Mechanical Properties of Human Root Dentin by Means of Microindentation

The extensive knowledge of root dentin’s mechanical properties is necessary for the prediction of microstructural alterations and the teeth’s deformations as well as their fracture behavior. Standardized microindentation tests were applied to apical, medial, and cervical root sections of a mandibular human first molar to determine the spatial distribution of the hard tissue’s properties (indentation modulus, indentation hardness, Martens hardness, indentation creep). Using an indentation mapping approach, the inhomogeneity of mechanical properties in longitudinal as well as in transversal directions were measured. As a result, the tooth showed strongly inhomogeneous material properties, which depended on the longitudinal and transversal positions. In the transversal cutting planes of the cervical, medial, apical sections, the properties showed a comparable distribution. A statistical evaluation revealed an indentation modulus between 12.2 GPa and 17.8 GPa, indentation hardness between 0.4 GPa and 0.64 GPa and an indentation creep between 8.6% and 10.7%. The established standardized method is a starting point for further investigations concerning the intensive description of the inhomogeneous mechanical properties of human dentin and other types of dentin.