SHRINKAGE OF SOUND AND DEMINERALIZED HUMAN CORONAL DENTIN SLABS

In this article a method is presented for dentine shrinkage measuremen ts. The relative shrinkage of sound dentine slabs is assessed using a Perthometer with respect to a steel reference. The relative shrinkage of lesions in dentine slabs can be estimated using combined Perthomete r/microradiography measurements. The results show that the relative le sion shrinkage of lesions in thick slabs is quite different from the s hrinkage of lesions in thin sections used for microradiography. The re lative lesion shrinkage is, for periods up to 30 min, linear with the air drying period and increases strongly with the demineralization per iod. The previously published diol treatment is capable of reducing th e relative lesion shrinkage in thick dentine slabs to negligible value s.