Experimental estimation of the emissivity of human enamel and dentin

Heat transfer occurs frequently in numerous dental treatment procedures. In almost all of the related experimental studies, use of infrared camera for temperature measurement, is becoming more and more popular, considering the many advantages of this technique. This technique has been employed in some recent studies as a non-invasive method for disease diagnosis. However, use of the infrared camera for temperature measurements requires knowledge of the emissivity of the target surface. The present in vitro study aims to determine the emissivity of enamel and dentin. The emissivity of enamel was found to be 0.96 +/- 0.01 in the temperature range of 20-40 degrees C and 0.97 +/- 0.01 in the temperature range of 40-60 degrees C. The emissivity of dentin was found to be 0.92 +/- 0.01 at 20-40 degrees C and 0.93 +/- 0.01 at 40-60 degrees C. The difference in the emissivity of enamel and dentin can be attributed to their different composition and constituents, structure and surface quality.