Talk:Enamel lamellae

The bulk of the old paragraph refers to the enamel itself, rather than the enamel lamellae, and so I think does not belong here (there is already an article on the enamel). Furthermore, it seems to be a copyright violation of http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16190512&dopt=Abstract...the content, though it is published on a US government website, does not appear to be a publication of the US government (publications of the US government are in the public domain) but rather the abstract of a research paper written by a couple of Hungarians. Your Beloved Uncle Jimbob 02:02, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Nice catch. There's one problem that I have, though. The Medline dictionary defines lamella as "(1) : one of the incremental layers of cementum laid down in a tooth (2) : a thin sheetlike organic structure in the enamel of a tooth extending inward from a surface crack". So, in this context, it appears that the lamellae aren't the actual cracks, but rather the tissues extending from these cracks. ˉˉ^anetode╦╩ 02:06, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Is there a dentist in the house? Your Beloved Uncle Jimbob 02:11, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Sorry for crashing the conversation, but I have consulted my dental histology textbook. Enamel lamellae and enamel tufts are similar to one another. They appear as dark lines arising from the location where enamel and dentin meet. Tufts look like short branches. Lamellae traverse from the junction of the enamel and dentin through the whole enamel. Specifically, it says lamellae "consist of linear, longitudinally oriented defects fill with enamel protein or organic debris from the oral cavity". Neither tufts nor lamellae are associated with increased risk to tooth decay. Though the image is not magnified, you can see both tufts and lamellae in the picture I had taken. In the thin layer of enamel, you can see bundles of short dark branches and also individual lines crossing the entire layer. Those are enamel tufts and lamellae.- Dozenist talk 02:40, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Oh, and one more thing, I added a closeup picture here. - Dozenist talk 03:01, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for explaining that, I don't have any real knowledge of the field. Would you mind correcting the stub to reflect this information? ˉˉ^anetode╦╩ 03:17, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Lamellae vs. tufts

Whereas enamel tufts are found at the DEJ and extend into the enamel, lamellae extend predominantly from the enamel surface inward into the enamel, but I supposed can be vice versa as well. The chief distinction is the linear vs. branched architecture of the defect. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 22:54, 28 June 2007 (UTC)