d e n t a l m a t e r i a l s 2 3 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 1296–1306

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Hydromechanics in dentine: Role of dentinal tubules

and hydrostatic pressure on mechanical
stress–strain distribution

A. Kishen a,∗ , S. Vedantam b

a Department of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, National University of Singapore, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road,
Singapore 119074, Republic of Singapore
b Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore,

Singapore 119074, Republic of Singapore

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Objectives. This investigation is to understand the role of free water in the dentinal tubules
Received 25 May 2006 on the mechanical integrity of bulk dentine.
Received in revised form Methods. Three different experiments were conducted in this study. In experiment 1,
8 November 2006 three-dimensional models of dentine with gradient elastic modulus, homogenous elastic
Accepted 16 November 2006 modulus, and with and without hydrostatic pressure were simulated using the finite ele-
ment method. Static compressive loads of 15, 50 and 100 N were applied and the distribution
of the principal stresses, von Mises stresses, and strains in loading direction were deter-
Keywords: mined. In experiment 2, experimental compression testing of fully hydrated and partially
Dentine dehydrated dentine (21 ◦ C for 72 h) was conducted using a Universal testing machine. In
Water experiment 3, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis of hydrated and partially
Dentinal tubules dehydrated dentine was carried out.
Stress Results. The finite element analysis revealed that the dentine model with simulated hydro-
Strain static pressure displayed residual tensile stresses and strains in the inner region adjacent
Hydrostatic pressure to the root canal. When external compressive loads were applied to the model, the resid-
ual stresses and strains counteracted the applied loads. Similarly the hydrated specimens
subjected to experimental compression loads showed greater toughness when compared to
the partially dehydrated specimens. The stress at fracture was significantly higher in par-
tially dehydrated specimens (p = 0.014), while the strain at fracture was significantly higher
in hydrated dentine specimens (p = 0.037).
Significance. These experiments highlighted the distinct role of free water in the dentinal
tubules and hydrostatic pressure on the stress–strain distribution within the bulk dentine.
© 2006 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction mechanics. With increasing interest in restorative procedures,

information obtained from these investigations are indispens-
Understanding the mechanical properties of structural bio- able for designing ‘artificial’ restorations that can best replace
materials has always been a challenging problem in tissue the functions of their ‘natural’ counterparts. Interestingly,

∗
Corresponding author. Tel.: +65 6516 4624; fax: +65 6774 5701.
E-mail address: rsdak@nus.edu.sg (A. Kishen).
0109-5641/$ – see front matter © 2006 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.dental.2006.11.018
 d e n t a l m a t e r i a l s 2 3 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 1296–1306
increased fracture predilection in endodontically treated teeth
is a relentless clinical problem. It is clinically well established
that endodontically treated teeth are more prone to fracture
[1–3], but the cause and effect relationship of endodontic
treatment and increased fracture predilection is still obscure
[4–6]. It is understood that increased fracture predilection of
an endodontically treated tooth has a multifactorial incep-
tion; however the precise contribution of different factors is
still not substantiated. Historically the increased susceptibil-
ity of fracture in endodontically treated teeth was attributed
to brittleness brought about in dentine due to loss of moisture
[7]. After about a decade of research this theory was aban-
doned in favor of the hypothesis that it is actually the loss of
tooth structure which is responsible for the increased fracture
predilection and there is no significant difference between the
moisture content of endodontically treated and vital human
teeth [5,8–12]. As demonstrated by the conflicting evidences
in the literature, the precise mechanical principles underlying
stress–strain response in tooth structure is still enveloped in
ambiguity [13].
The disagreements in literature are to some extent a
result of direct comparison of endodontically treated teeth
with the vital teeth, and due to difficulties in establishing
appropriate controls and comparable test procedures. Spec-
imen preparations and maintaining the level of hydration
in the test specimens were also overlooked. Jameson et al.
compared the mechanical properties of fully hydrated den-
tine bars and dentine bars dehydrated at 20 ◦ C (50% relative
humidity) for 7 days and reported a total moisture loss of
30%. They also found a significant increase in stiffness and
decrease in toughness of dentine after dehydration. Since
removal of tightly bound water from dentine required heat-
ing to more than 600 ◦ C for a considerable period of time, the
water lost by this approach is said to be mostly the free water
present in the dentine [11]. Kahler et al. studied the work of
fracture and fracture patterns in bovine dentine and found
hydrated dentine to be significantly tougher than dehydrated
dentine. In this study, the hydrated dentine demonstrated
60% increase in crack-initiation-toughness and crack-growth-
toughness than dehydrated dentine [14]. Their experiments
revealed different fracture toughening mechanisms such as
microcracking, crack deflection and ligament formation in
fully hydrated dentine [15]. Kishen and Asundi studied the
biomechanical behavior of fully hydrated and dehydrated den-
tine using moiré interfermometry. The entire plano-parallel
facio-lingual section (sagittal section) of the tooth was used
for this experiment and the specimens were dehydrated at
24 ◦ C, 55% relative humidity for 72 h. It was concluded that
the presence of water in the hydrated dentine resulted in a
stress strain response characteristic of tough material, while
the loss of free water resulted in stiffening, and response char-
acteristic of brittle material [16]. The stiffness of dentine is
contributed by the mineral constituents, and it was shown
that high value of mineralization produces high values of elas-
tic modulus and static strength, though resulting in low values
of stored strain energy [17]. The toughness and/or increased
strain energy is provided by the organic fraction, particularly
the collagen in dentine. The degree of mineralization of col-
lagen substrate in dentine however varies continuously with
location, and this gradient in the mineralization is believed
1297
to optimize the functionality of the overall tooth structure
[18].
Dentine is a permeable mineralized tissue consisting of
thousands of microscopic tubules of diameter 0.5–4.0 ␮m,
which extend from the inner pulp space to the outer surface.
They have typical densities between 10,000 and 96,000 mm−1
[19]. The pulp space in an intact vital tooth is made up
of a connective tissue system consisting of cells and fibers
both embedded in the extracellular matrix. The extracellu-
lar matrix proteins have very high water-holding properties,
and the total water content of the pulp is approximately more
than 90%. In addition, a physiological intra-pulpal pressure,
estimated to be at 10–28 mmHg, constantly drives the pulpal
fluid outwards along the dentinal tubules [20]. These findings
emphasize the fact that free water in dentine is a dynamic
phase, and its movement through the porosities and tubules in
dentine may influence the response of bulk dentine structure
during mechanical functions. Earlier studies have suggested
that the fluid filled dentinal tubules could function to hydrauli-
cally transfer and dissipate the occlusal forces applied to
teeth [21,22]. Paphangkorakit and Osborn have shown that
normal chewing forces (20–120 N) could displace fluid out of
the dentinal tubules (3.5 to 22.2 × 103 pl) when tooth is loaded
and back into the dentinal tubules when unloaded [23]. Kin-
ney et al. suggested from a theoretical mechanics perspective
that the structural stability of dentine is not only the func-
tion of mineralization but also the moisture content [24,25].
Nalla et al. based on experiments carried out on dentine
specimens obtained from elephant tusk, highlighted that the
presence of fluid was vital for the deformability of dentine
[26]. Recently, Arola and Zheng suggested that the flexure
strength and energy to fracture hydrated dentine increased
significantly with increasing stress rate. On the contrary, the
flexure strength and energy to fracture of dehydrated dentine
decreased with increasing stress rate [27]. Nevertheless, very
few investigations have addressed the role of dentinal tubules,
free water, and hydrostatic pressure on the mechanical behav-
ior of bulk dentine structure.
The finite element method has been extensively used for
evaluating the stress and strain responses of human tooth
under various test conditions. In most of these studies, den-
tine has been modeled as a homogeneous and isotropic
material [28,29]. These studies seem to have ignored the
effects of dentinal tubules, intra-pulpal hydrostatic pressure,
and the elastic modulus gradient on the mechanical prop-
erties of dentine. The above mentioned factors can play a
key role in the mechanical integrity of dentine structure, and
are essential to understand how dentine bulk resists phys-
iological forces. The main goal of this investigation is to
examine the role of free water of hydration within dentinal
tubules on the mechanical behavior of bulk dentine struc-
ture. The following investigations are utilized for this purpose:
(1) finite element analysis (FEA) of dentine models, to study
the effect of material property gradients and intra-pulpal
hydrostatic pressure on the stress–strain distribution within
dentine. (2) Compression testing of fully hydrated and par-
tially dehydrated dentine sections to study the influence of
hydration on the stress–strain response in bulk dentine struc-
ture and (3) Fourier transfer Infrared spectroscopy of fully
hydrated dentine and dehydrated dentine (21 ◦ C for 72 h) to
1298 d e n t a l m a t e r i a l s 2 3 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 1296–1306
examine partial dehydration induced changes in the dentine
material.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Experiment 1: finite element analysis of dentine
models
The three-dimensional finite element (FE) models of bulk
dentine were created using ABAQUS/CAE Version 6.4. A three-
dimensional sectional model of the cervical dentine was
used in this analysis because: (1) cervical dentine experi-
ences prominent stress and strain distribution during biting,
(2) dentinal tubules in the cervical dentine are straighter
when compared to the crown dentine, (3) the distribution of
dentinal tubules is indicated to be highly ordered in the cer-
vical dentine [19], (4) there are more patent dentinal tubules
and conspicuous elastic modulus gradients in the cervical
region. The FE models of the dentine had a length 3.5 mm,
arc length of 0.1 mm and height of 0.1 mm and included a cir-
cular root canal of 1.00 mm diameter along the height of the
section. Since the diameter of the dentinal tubules decreased
from the inner region (adjacent to the root canal lumen)
to outer surface, and the density of the dentinal tubules
ranged from 7 to 30 tubules per 100 ␮m which corresponds
to 4900 and 90,000 tubules/mm2 [19] in the current model, 10
dentinal tubules per 100 ␮m were simulated. The following
assumptions were considered during modeling: (1) the sec-
tional specimen was considered to be composed of dentine
only as the thickness of cementum layer was relatively negli-
gible, (2) dentinal tubules were arranged regularly throughout
the model, (3) dentinal tubules were regarded as parallel, and
the root canal was represented by a straight cylinder as only a
small section was considered, (4) dentinal tubules were repre-
sented by truncated cones, with a decrease in diameter from
the inner to outer surface. The tip of tubule was 0.007 mm
from the outer surface, (5) branching of dentinal tubule was
not modeled to simplify geometry. The model constituted of
36 segments along the tubule direction. Each of these 36 seg-
ments was further divided into 4 partitions in order to reduce
distortion of elements during meshing. Global seeding of ele-
ment size of 0.008 mm was assigned for the whole model, and
at least four elements were used around each dentinal tubule.
Four-node linear tetrahedron elements with three degrees of
freedom per node were used. Due to periodic symmetry, only a
sector of the whole geometry was represented in the numeri-
cal simulation. The final assembled model consisted of 250,120
tetrahedral elements and 56,770 nodes (Fig. 1(a–c)).
In models simulating the spatial gradients in elastic mod-
ulus, a thermal analysis approach was used to achieve a
smooth linear elastic modulus gradation across the whole
model. The inner and outer surfaces were fixed at an arbitrary
temperatures and constant thermal conductivity is applied.
At steady state of the thermal analysis a linear tempera-
ture profile is obtained. The elastic modulus is provided as
a linear function of temperature to obtain spatial variation
of the modulus. The temperature gradient does not affect
subsequent stress analysis since thermal expansion is not
considered. The gradients in the elastic modulus applied in
this model were based on values obtained in our previous
investigations. A linear fit was carried out on this data and
the values calculated using the trend line equation was uti-
lized to simulate the spatial gradient in elastic modulus in the
cervical dentine section. A Poisson’s ratio of 0.32 was assigned
for the entire dentine structure [30]. A hydrostatic pressure
of 15 cm water was applied on the inner dentine surface
and within the dentinal tubules to simulate the physiological
intra-pulpal pressure [31]. The pressure applied was assumed
to be constant and pressure variations due to fluid–structure
interactions were neglected. Four different models were sim-
ulated in this study: (1) model with gradients in the elastic
modulus (Graded Elastic Material (GEM) model) and Hydro-
static Pressure (HP) (GEM-HP). (2) Model with constant elastic
modulus (Homogenous Elastic Modulus (HEM) model), and
HP (HEM-HP). (3) GEM model without HP (GEM) and (4) HEM
model without HP (HEM). An elastic modulus value of 8.02 GPa
was assigned to the HEM models. This value was the aver-
age of the extreme elastic modulus values used for the GEM
models.
During testing, the FE model was constrained at the bot-
tom and symmetry boundary conditions were enforced on the
two side planes by invoking suitable nodal transformations
and applying boundary conditions to local directions in this
symmetry plane. Tensile and compressive loads of magnitude
15, 50, and 100 N were applied on the superior surface in sep-
arate simulations and the stress and strain distributions of
dentine were recorded. Compressive loads were used to simu-
late a more physiological loading condition, while tensile loads
were applied to simulate an extreme failure loading condition.
The stress and strain values were calculated from the nodal
displacement using the stress–strain and strain–displacement
relationships. The stress in the loading direction, the von
Mises stress, and the strain in loading direction was deter-
mined from all the four numerical models along four lines of
interest as shown in Fig. 1(b and c).
2.2. Experiment 2: mechanical compression testing of
dentine specimens
Twelve freshly extracted single rooted teeth were collected
and stored in deionized water. Mid-line bucco-lingual plano-
parallel, slab shaped sections of 2.5 mm thickness were
prepared from these teeth by grinding the mesial and dis-
tal aspect of the specimens on wet SiC paper of varying grit
sizes. Enamel was removed from these teeth by grinding on
SiC paper of size 400 and the apical and coronal ends of each
tooth were made flat to facilitate the placement of the speci-
men in the mechanical testing machine. The specimens were
kept hydrated during the entire stages of specimen prepara-
tion. These specimens were then polished with a diamond
paste of particle size 3 ␮m. All the specimens were checked
for preexisting cracks. Out of the 12 specimens used 6 spec-
imens were kept fully hydrated while the other 6 specimens
were allowed to dehydrate at 21 ◦ C and 60% relative humidity
for 72 h (partial dehydration). The protocol of partial dehy-
dration process induced in this study was similar to earlier
experiments [16]. All samples were subjected to a compres-
sion testing using a 5564 Instron Universal testing machine at
the rate of 1 mm/min.
 d e n t a l m a t e r i a l s 2 3 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 1296–1306 1299

Fig. 1 – The three-dimensional sectional model of the tooth showing: (a) geometric details of a single dentinal tubule, (b)
solid sector model with four dentinal tubules, and (c) fully meshed finite element model consisting of 250,120 tetrahedral
elements.

2.3. Experiment 3: Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)
spectroscopic analysis of dentine
Freshly extracted teeth were collected and their enamel and
cementum portions were trimmed using a tapering fissure
bur (no: 700). These specimens were divided into two groups
with equal number of specimens. The specimens in Group
1 were maintained fully hydrated in deionized water, while
specimens in Group 2 were subjected to room temperature
dehydration at 21 ◦ C (60% relative humidity) (partial dehydra-
1300 d e n t a l m a t e r i a l s 2 3 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 1296–1306
Fig. 2 – Comparison of stress distribution from inner to
outer dentine under compressive loads (a) with hydrostatic
pressure and (b) without hydrostatic pressure.
tion). After the 72 h of dehydration the dentine specimens in
Group 1 along with the specimens in Group 3 were pulverized
to fine powder and subjected to FTIR analysis using a Fourier
transform infrared spectrometer (Magna-IR 560, Nicolet, Madi-
son, WI, USA). The dentine specimens were pulverized to fine
powder in a mechanical grinder. The small particle size pre-
vents specular reflection, while enhancing absorption. Total
Fig. 4 – Stress contour of plane at 0.0003 mm from the surface of inner dentine under 15 N compressive load: (a) with
hydrostatic pressure and (b) without hydrostatic pressure.
Fig. 3 – Stress distribution from inner to outer dentine in
FGM and homogenous models with hydrostatic pressure
under 15 N compressive load.
time spent for grinding specimens in a group was less than a
minute. Specimens in all groups were prepared similarly for
the FTIR analysis for better standardization. The fine powder
was immediately milled with potassium bromide (KBr) to form
pellets for FTIR analysis. The spectral range of 4000–400 cm−1
was analyzed and registered in the transmission mode. The
spectra were obtained at 4 cm−1 resolution by averaging 100
scans per specimen group.
3. Results
3.1. Experiment 1: finite element analysis of dentine
models
3.1.1. Distribution of maximum principal stress in dentine
Fig. 2(a) shows a comparison of the stress distribution in the
GEM-HP models of dentine with and GEM when compres-
sive loads were applied. The models with hydrostatic pressure
(GEM-HP) demonstrated a tensile stress (at zero compressive
load), which was higher in the inner dentine adjacent to the
root canal. Under compressive loading, the GEM-HP displayed
reduction in the preexisting tensile stress. On the other hand,
 d e n t a l m a t e r i a l s 2 3 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 1296–1306
Fig. 5 – Comparison of von Mises stress distribution from
inner to outer dentine in FGM models under compressive
loading: (a) with hydrostatic pressure and (b) without
hydrostatic pressure.
the GEM model without HP (GEM) displayed relatively con-
stant compressive stress distribution throughout the dentine,
which increased systematically with increase in compressive
loads. At higher loads the maximum compressive stresses in
the GEM-HP model was observed in the outer region while
the inner region experienced only a reduction in the preex-
isting residual stress. In the GEM model without hydrostatic
Fig. 7 – von Mises stress contour of plane at 0.0003 mm from the surface of inner dentine under 15 N compressive load: (a)
with hydrostatic pressure and (b) without hydrostatic pressure.
1301
Fig. 6 – von Misses stress distribution from inner to outer
dentine for FGM and homogeneous models with
hydrostatic pressure under 15 N compressive load.
pressure, the inner region experienced higher compressive
stresses when compared to the outer region (Fig. 2(b)). The
maximum compressive stress observed for GEM-HP models
was lower than the maximum compressive stress observed
in GEM models without hydrostatic pressure. The stress dis-
tribution pattern in HEM-HP model was similar to the stress
distribution in GEM-HP model (Fig. 3). In all the models the
dentinal tubules in the inner region displayed high circum-
ferential stresses. In GEM-HP model, with compressive loads,
the dentinal tubules in the inner region exhibited compressive
stresses in the direction of loading and tensile stresses in the
orthogonal direction (Fig. 4). In GEM model, the compressive
stresses were found circumferentially on the dentinal tubules.
3.1.2. Distribution of von Mises stress in dentine
The models with hydrostatic pressure (GEM-HP and HEM-HP)
demonstrated similar tensile stress distribution in the inner
dentine adjacent to the root canal. Fig. 5 shows a compari-
son of the stress distribution in dentine (GEM-HP) with and
without hydrostatic pressure (GEM) for different compressive
loads applied along the long axis of the tooth. The von Mises
1302 d e n t a l m a t e r i a l s 2 3 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 1296–1306
Fig. 8 – Comparison of strain distribution from inner to
outer dentine in FGM models under compressive loads: (a)
with hydrostatic pressure and (b) without hydrostatic
pressure.
stresses decreased steeply from the inner dentine towards
the outer surface for GEM-HP, while the GEM models with-
out hydrostatic pressure (GEM) displayed relatively constant
von Mises stresses throughout the dentine (Fig. 5(b)). With
Fig. 10 – Strain contour of plane at 0.0003 mm from the surface of inner dentine under 15 N compressive load: (a) with
hydrostatic pressure and (b) without hydrostatic pressure.
Fig. 9 – Strain distribution from inner to outer dentine in
FGM and homogeneous models with hydrostatic pressure
under 15 N compressive load.
increase in compressive loads, the GEM-HP experienced a
decrease in the preexisting von Mises stresses, while the GEM
experienced an evident increase in the von Mises stresses
throughout the dentine with increase in loads. Both GEM-HP
and HEM-HP displayed similar hydrostatic pressure induced
tensile stress patterns in the inner dentine region (Fig. 6).
In all the models, the dentinal tubules in the inner region
displayed circumferential von Misses stresses. However, the
GEM-HP demonstrated lesser and more uniform distribution
of stress when compared to models without hydrostatic pres-
sure (GEM and HEM). The GEM showed stress concentrations
in regions adjacent to the dentinal tubules in the direction
perpendicular to the loading direction (Fig. 7).
3.1.3. Distribution of maximum principal strain in dentine
Fig. 8(a and b) shows the distribution of the maximum princi-
pal strains from the inner to outer dentine in the GEM-HP and
GEM. The GEM-HP model displayed high pre-existing strains
in the inner dentine, which steeply reduces towards the outer
dentine. Though hydrostatic pressure induced preexisting
 d e n t a l m a t e r i a l s 2 3 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 1296–1306 1303

strains in the inner dentine of the HEM-HP model was con-

siderably lower than GEM-HP (Fig. 9). With increase in applied
compressive loads, the GEM-HP displayed a decrease in the
preexisting strains in the inner dentine. While, the GEM model
without HP (GEM) showed increase in compressive strains in
the inner dentine. The major portion of the remaining dentine
did not show any obvious increase in strain with loads in both
GEM-HP and GEM. It was noted that there was an increase in
the strain difference between the inner and the outer dentine
with increase in loads in GEM. The dentinal tubules in the
inner region experienced higher circumferential strains and
in GEM-HP, compressive strains were observed in the loading
direction and tensile stain in the orthogonal direction circum-
ferential to the dentinal tubules (Fig. 10). Further, these models
displayed a more uniform distribution of strains circumferen-
tially around the dentinal tubules, while the HEM-HP and HEM
exhibited only compressive strains that concentrated in the
direction orthogonal to the loading direction.

3.2. Experiment 2: mechanical compression testing of

dentine specimens

Partially dehydrated specimens failed at higher loads than the

hydrated dentine specimens. It was observed that the failures
in partially dehydrated dentine samples were catastrophic
and fractures were complete and vertical along the root
canal. The average stress at fracture of hydrated specimens
was 53.1 MPa, while that of partially dehydrated specimens
were 157.8 MPa. The average stress at fracture for dehydrated
dentine was significantly higher than the hydrated dentine
(p = 0.014). The percentage strain at failure and toughness
observed in hydrated dentine specimens were significantly
higher than in partially dehydrated specimens (Fig. 11). The
average percentage strains at failure for hydrated specimens
Fig. 12 – Photographs showing the fracture pattern in (a)
were 9.6, while that of partially dehydrated specimens were
dehydrated and (b) hydrated dentine specimens subjected
3.7. The average strain at failure for hydrated dentine was sig-
to compressive loads.
nificantly higher than that of dehydrated dentine (p = 0.037).
Though failure was initiated at comparatively lower loads,
there were signs of microcracking and crack deflection lat-
erally in hydrated dentine. The fracture in hydrated dentine occurred very slowly and was not complete in nature. In
both hydrated and partially dehydrated specimens the initial
signs of microcracking occurred at about 2–3% strain values.
However, the dehydrated dentine samples failed by way of
complete vertical fracture at this strain, while the hydrated
dentine samples absorbed about 6% strains more before com-
pletely fracturing (Fig. 12). X-ray imaging analysis of the failed
hydrated dentine samples showed signs of root canal widen-
ing and microcracking in the inner dentine adjacent to the root
canal lumen (Fig. 13). These features were not observed in the
partially dehydrated dentine specimens.

3.3. Experiment 3: Fourier transform infrared

spectroscopic analysis of dentine

The FTIR spectra of hydrated and partially dehydrated den-

Fig. 11 – A typical stress vs. strain plot obtained from the
compressive testing of a hydrated and dehydrated dentine
samples.
tine specimens are shown in Fig. 14. It was found from the
results that IR spectra of both samples showed major band
at ∼3400 cm−1 due to the presence of hydroxyl group (␯3 and
␯1 mode). The band at 1640 is attributed to H–O–H bending
band of water (␯2 mode). However, this peak intensity was
1304 d e n t a l m a t e r i a l s 2 3 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 1296–1306
Fig. 13 – Fein focus x-ray images showing fracture patterns
in (a) hydrated and (b) dehydrated dentine samples (arrows
indicate microcracks in dentine).
higher for hydrated dentine specimen than dehydrated den-
tine specimens. A peak around 2900 cm−1 was also observed in
both the samples. This peak was attributed to N–H stretching.
This peak pertains to macro molecules of proteins associated
with dentine. Peaks in the region of 1510–1410 are present in
both the samples and it denotes the C–O stretch of carbonate.
Peaks related to the C–O out-of-plane bend denoting the car-
bonates related to phosphorous are also present in the range
Fig. 14 – FTIR spectra obtained from fully hydrated and 72 h
dehydrated dentine specimens.
of 860–870. Peaks in the region of 1000–1100 and 500–600 rep-
resenting the PO4 3− stretch and PO4 3− bend of phosphate were
also present [32]. Peaks about 1655 and 1228 cm−1 are said
to be also characteristic of amide bands [33]. However, there
was no obvious difference between FTIR spectra of hydrated
and dehydrated dentine. These findings imply that no sec-
ondary phase transformation occurred in dentine during the
72 h dehydration at 20 ◦ C.
4. Discussions
Mechanical properties of mineralized tissues are usually
determined as localized material properties or bulk structural
properties. The localized material or tissue level properties
of mineralized tissue are determined by conducting standard
mechanical tests on uniformly shaped and/or sized tissue
samples. The tissue level properties are relatively independent
of the geometry of the tissue. The bulk structural proper-
ties of a tissue can be determined only by examining the
mechanical behavior of the mineralized tissue as an anatom-
ical unit [34]. The bulk dentine structure includes pulp space
and dentinal tubules, which are filled with water at a particular
hydrostatic pressure. The highly mineralized peritubular den-
tine, and the less permeable enamel and cementum on the
outer aspect of dentine impart a ‘confined’ environment for
the free water in the bulk dentine [35]. In the present study,
the entire sagittal sections of teeth were used for compres-
sion testing. These specimens maintained the major bulk of
the tooth in the facio-lingual direction, and also incorporated
the pulp chamber and the root canal lumen. These specimens
retained the enamel and cementum on the outer aspect of
the facial and lingual side. This allowed maintaining a con-
fined environment for water in the dentinal tubules along the
facio-lingual direction. This mode of specimen preparation
enabled us to examine the bulk structural response of den-
tine with water filled root canal lumen and dentinal tubules.
Most importantly, the free water in these specimens was
held mostly in a confined environment during compressive
loading.
The compression testing of sagittal dentine sections
highlighted conspicuous difference between the stress–strain
responses of fully hydrated dentine and dentine dehydrated
at 20 ◦ C for 72 h. The fully hydrated dentine demonstrated
obviously high strain at failure compared to the partially
dehydrated dentine specimens. While, the 72 h dehydrated
dentine showed higher stress at fracture when compared
to fully hydrated dentine specimens. The magnitude of
elastic or reversible strains experienced by fully hydrated
dentine was conspicuously higher than the partially dehy-
drated dentine. The partially dehydrated dentine specimens
fractured completely and catastrophically along the root
canal, while none of the fully hydrated dentine specimen
displayed complete fracture. Cracks in the fully hydrated
dentine specimens occurred away from the root canal lumen,
and these specimens showed signs of lateral microcracking.
Earlier investigations on the effect of age and dehydration
on fatigue crack growth in human dentine has emphasized
that the fatigue crack growth resistance of human dentine
decreases with both age of the tissue and dehydration. These
 d e n t a l m a t e r i a l s 2 3 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 1296–1306
experiments further highlighted that the fracture surfaces of
the old dentine was smoother with very less topographical
variations between the planes of failure of intertubular and
peritubular dentine in comparison to the young hydrated
dentine. Fracture surface of young hydrated dentine was
found to exhibit evidence of ‘peritubular cuff pull-out’, which
contributed to energy dissipation during crack extension
[36,37].
In this study FEA was utilized not to determine the abso-
lute values of mechanical stress or strain generated within
the dentine bulk, but to understand their distribution pattern.
The FEA revealed that dentine model with hydrostatic pres-
sure exhibited residual principal tensile stresses and strains
in the inner region adjacent to the root canal. This resid-
ual tensile stresses and strains in the inner region of the
bulk dentine can be attributed to the effect of hydrostatic
pressure on the root canal lumen, large diameter of denti-
nal tubules and higher density of dentinal tubules in the
inner dentine. Interestingly, previous studies have noticed
dehydration induced residual compressive strains in dentine
structure [16,38]. The maximum residual tensile stress and
strain in the inner region was conspicuously lower in the
dentine model with gradient elastic modulus than dentine
model with homogenous elastic modulus. When compressive
loads were applied to the dentine models with hydrostatic
pressure, the residual tensile stresses and strains diminished
systematically with increase in loads. In the absence of hydro-
static pressure, dentine models with gradient elastic modulus
showed relatively constant compressive stresses and strains
throughout the bulk dentine. The stresses and strains in such
models without hydrostatic pressure increased, especially in
the inner dentine with increase in applied loads. In all speci-
mens the dentinal tubules adjacent to the root canal lumen
exhibited higher circumferential stresses and strains. The
presence of hydrostatic pressure was found to significantly
affect the nature of circumferential stress and strain distribu-
tion around the dentinal tubules in this region. In the presence
of hydrostatic pressure the dentine circumferential to the
dentinal tubules displayed compressive stresses in the load-
ing direction, while tensile stresses were distributed in the
orthogonal direction. This response was similar to cellular
solids [39], and earlier experiments studying the stress–strain
response of dentine under loads within physiological limits
have highlighted characteristics similar to cellular solids in
dentine [16]. In models with homogeneous elastic modulus
(both with and without hydrostatic pressure), compressive
stresses and strains concentrated in the direction orthogo-
nal to the loading direction. These findings vividly highlight
that dentine during compressive loading experiences cir-
cumferential deformations around the dentinal tubules, and
hydrostatic pressure was important for their symmetrical
and homogenous distribution of deformation along the inter-
tubular dentine. A clinical study highlighting the origin of
microcracks in the inner dentine adjacent to the root canal
in clinically fractured post-endodontically restored teeth was
reported earlier [30]. The dentine models without hydrostatic
pressure highlighted obvious strain difference between the
inner and the outer dentine with increase in applied loads.
Corresponding results were reported in earlier investigation
[16].
1305
Hydraulic strengthening (HS) of bone refers to the effect
of the viscous fluid constituent of the bone in reducing bone
stresses during dynamic loading. It is characteristically a
mechanism in bone that increases the upper range of dynamic
loads that can be tolerated by the human skeleton [40]. In
the experimental compressive testing conducted in this study,
complete hydration or in other words presence of free water
in the tubulo-canalicular system increased both resilience and
toughness of the dentine. The increased resilience (the capac-
ity of a material to absorb energy elastically upon loading) and
toughness (the ability to resist fracture) imply that the free
water in the tubulo-canalicular systems provides dentine the
ability to absorb loads elastically and resist fracture. Further,
the fully hydrated dentine exhibited a concave stress–strain
curve in the early loading phases, which indicates that for
initial loads the dentine reacts with increased deformation
rather than stress [34]. All the above mechanisms support
the evidence that the presence of free water in the tubulo-
canalicular system of dentine, the hydrostatic pressure and
the spatial gradients in the elastic modulus not only increased
the upper range of loads that can be tolerated by the bulk den-
tine structure but also improved the fatigue performance of
the structure.
Having observed the distinct role of dentinal tubules and
hydrostatic pressure on the mechanical stress–strain distri-
bution in bulk dentine, it becomes imperative to discern the
type of water contributing to this unique response in dentine.
It was suggested that free water can be removed by heating
at 100 ◦ C, but bound water can only be substantially removed
by heating at 600 ◦ C [41]. The FTIR analysis did not high-
light any significant difference between fully hydrated and
partially dehydrated dentine. This finding substantiates the
earlier understanding that in mineralized tissue collagen, the
intermolecular space is mostly occupied by mineral crystals,
which restricts molecular movement and offers better stabi-
lization to calcified collagen [42–44]. This finding confirms that
the mechanical response observed in the fully hydrated den-
tine samples was a discrete response produced by the free
water in the dentinal tubules and root canal lumen, and is not
caused by any inorganic or organic phase alterations. In addi-
tion, previous experiments have highlighted that after 72 h
of dehydration, the dentine lost only 5% of water. This water
constituted only 30% of the total water in dentine, and was pre-
dominantly from the dentinal tubules and root canal lumen.
It was also shown that rehydration of dentine can completely
reverse the dehydration induced strains and water level in
dentine. The water lost during this dehydration process was
mostly the ‘free’ or ‘loosely’ bound water that fills the dentinal
tubules and the root canals [11,45].
It is important to realize that the free water that fills the
dentinal tubules and root canal lumen can form a three-
dimensional interconnecting channel system of water, which
along with the hydrostatic pressure creates a preexisting
tensile stresses and strains in the loading direction, which
counteracts the compressive loads due to biting acting on the
bulk dentine structure. This effect is largely lost after dehy-
dration at 20 ◦ C for 72 h. Interestingly, it was also observed that
the hydrostatic pressure had more pronounced effect than the
elastic modulus gradients on the mechanical stress and strain
distribution in the bulk dentine.
1306 d e n t a l m a t e r i a l s 2 3 ( 2 0 0 7 ) 1296–1306
Acknowledgement
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of Ms. Chong
Li Shuang and Dr. Adeela Rafique during this study.
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