mottled enamel

enamel /enam·el/ (ĕ-nam´'l)

1. the glazed surface of baked porcelain, metal, or pottery.

2. any hard, smooth, glossy coating.

3. dental enamel; the hard, thin, translucent substance covering and protecting the dentin of a tooth crown and composed almost entirely of calcium salts.

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mottled enamel  dental fluorosis: hypoplasia of the dental enamel caused by drinking water with a high fluorine content during the time of tooth formation; characterized by defective calcification that gives a white chalky appearance to the enamel, which gradually undergoes brown discoloration.

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mot·tled enamel (mtld)

n.

Defective enamel formation, varying in appearance from small white opacities to yellow and black spotting, due to excessive fluoride ingestion during tooth formation.

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enamel [e-nam´el]

the white, compact, and very hard substance covering and protecting the dentin of the crown of a tooth.

mottled enamel a chronic endemic form of hypoplasia of the dental enamel caused by drinking water with a high fluoride content when a child is in the time of tooth formation. It is characterized by defective calcification that gives a white chalky appearance to the enamel, which gradually undergoes brown discoloration. See also dental fluorosis.

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enamel lamellae

(lmel´ē),
n.pl the incompletely calcified, microscopic structures present in the enamel. They may extend to the dentinoenamel junction and beyond.

enamel matrix,

n the mineral structure of enamel, secreted by ameloblasts.

enamel, mottled,

n See fluorosis, chronic endemic dental.

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enamel

the white, compact and very hard substance covering and protecting the dentine of the crown of a tooth.

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enamel bulge

the area of greatest diameter of a tooth, just external to the gum line, which acts to deflect food from the free gingival margin and the gingival crevice.

enamel epithelium

epithelium which creates a bell-shaped enamel organ, surrounding the dental papilla; the internal epithelium consists of columnar ameloblasts which secrete enamel.

enamel hypoplasia

incomplete or partial development; a common defect in dogs.

inherited enamel defect

an inherited absence of enamel from all teeth combined with excessive flexibility of joints in Holstein-Friesian cattle. The teeth are pink and obviously deficient in substance. A defect in collagen formation is probable.

enamel layer

the outermost layer of cells of the enamel organ.

mottled enamel

dental fluorosis; defective enamel, with a chalky white appearance or brownish stain, caused by excessive amounts of fluorine in drinking water and food preparations during the period of enamel calcification.

enamel organ

an epithelial cap over a dental papilla that develops into the enamel-producing organ. The shape of the enamel organ determines the shape of the tooth.

enamel points

sharp projections of enamel at the junction of the buccal and occlusal surfaces of a tooth. Seen most commonly in horses.

enamel rods

progressively mineralized glycoproteinaceous tubules, the basic structural units of enamel; enamel is acellular and consists of interrod material and rods,

enamel spot

remnant of the enamel cup in the center of an incisor tooth table in a horse.

Enamel spot. By permission from Sack W, Wensing CJG, Dyce KM, Textbook of Veterinary Anatomy, Saunders, 2002

enamel works

factories manufacturing enamels or using them extensively; sources of fluorine for pollution of pasture and water.

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mottled enamel

Dentistry Enamel punctuated by patches of white and/or brownish discoloration; ME may be due to infection and/or antibiotic therapy or fluorosis