Teeth and bones are highly mineralized tissues containing inorganic minerals such as calcium phosphate, and a growing number of evidences show that their mineral content is associated with many diseases. Although the quantification of mineral contents by micro-computed tomography(micro- CT) has been used in diagnosis and evaluation for treating bone diseases, its application for teeth diseases has not been well established. In this study, we attempted to estimate a usefulness of a high-resolution micro-CT in analysis of human teeth. The teeth were scanned by using the Skyscan 1172 micro-CT. In order to measure tooth mineral content, beam hardening effect of the machine was corrected with a radiopaque iodinecontaining substance, iodoacetamide. Under the maximum resolution of 6.6 μm, X-ray densities in teeth and hydroxyapatite standards were obtained with Hounsfield unit (HU), and they were then converted to an absolute mineral concentration by a CT Analyzer software. In enamel layer of cusp area, the mean mineral concentration was about 2.14 mg/mm3 and there was a constant mineral concentration gradient from the enamel surface to the dentinoenamel junction. In the dentin of middle 1/3 of tooth, the mean mineral concentration was approximately 1.27 mg/mm3 and there was a constant mineral concentration gradient from the outer of root to the pulp side, ranging from 1.3 to 1.06 mg/mm3. In decay region of dentin, the mineral content was gradually decreased from the intact inner side to the decayed surface. These results suggest that high-resolution micro-CT can be as a useful tool for non-invasive measurement of mineral concentration in teeth.

서 론
 재료 및 방법
  마이크로 전산화단층촬영
  치아의 무기질 밀도 측정
 결 과
  법랑질의 무기질 밀도
  상아질의 무기질 밀도
  우식 부위의 무기질 밀도
 고 찰
 감사의 글
 Conflict of interest
 References

• Dae-Sung Song(Department of Pharmacology and Dental Therapeutics, Research Center for Biomineralization Disorders, School of Dentistry, Chonnam National University)
• Jung-Woo Kim(Department of Pharmacology and Dental Therapeutics, Research Center for Biomineralization Disorders, School of Dentistry, Chonnam National University)
• Jeong-Tae Koh(Department of Pharmacology and Dental Therapeutics, Research Center for Biomineralization Disorders, School of Dentistry, Chonnam National University) Correspondence to
• Yun-Chan Hwang(Department of Conservative Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Chonnam National University)
• Il-Shin Kim(Department of Dental Hygiene, Honam University)
• Ju Han Song(Department of Pharmacology and Dental Therapeutics, Research Center for Biomineralization Disorders, School of Dentistry, Chonnam National University)
• Sin-Hye Oh(Department of Pharmacology and Dental Therapeutics, Research Center for Biomineralization Disorders, School of Dentistry, Chonnam National University)
• Hee-Su Hwang(Department of Pharmacology and Dental Therapeutics, Research Center for Biomineralization Disorders, School of Dentistry, Chonnam National University)