Characterising Subsurface Eroded Enamel (CHASE)

Erosive tooth wear (ETW) is the third most common dental condition, caused by demineralisation of teeth. Our previous Unilever Oral Care and Kings collaborations (2015 - present) developed novel workflows and provided groundbreaking insights into how ETW affects teeth. Our most recent iCASE-funded PhD demonstrated that ETW is not purely a superficial phenomenon, as was previously thought.

We showed on natural surfaces that a subsurface layer of altered enamel, 20 - 40 um in depth, formed after acid exposure. Understanding and engineering this layer could change approaches to prevention and therapy. These novel findings from our collaboration with Unilever, were introduced through analysis techniques unique to our group. This layer requires further investigation using research objectives (ROs):