Clinical adhesiveness of the tooth surface

Abstract

The clinical adhesiveness of tooth structure was determined for 43 individuals using intraoral contact angle measurements. There were no statistically significant differences in the critical surface tensions of wetting between groups of males and females nor between the three age groups tested. There was a statistically significant difference between individuals. The critical surface tensions for all the tooth surfaces measured were in the bioadhesive range of 32--50 dynes/cm. The formation of an organic film, pellicle, on the surfaces of teeth brings groups of different ages and sex to a common state of bioadhesiveness, allowing for the subsequent bacterial colonization and plaque formation as a clinical consequence.