A. Hopewell Smith, Dental Microscopy, 1899.

Year of publication: 1899
Publisher: Other
Condition: Used
Cover type: Hard
Size: 16.5x23cm
Number of pages: 206
Weight: 0.5kg

In tooth development, the Hopewell-Smith enamel layer is the most peripheral layer of initially unmineralized dentin, which forms directly beneath the cementoenamel junction (CDJ). It eventually becomes mineralized, but not before the rest of the dentin is already mineralized. It is 0.5-0.8 µm thick and contains proteins similar to the enamel matrix, as well as proteins expected in dentin. It is in this vitreous layer that the initial fibers of the periodontal ligament are deposited.

The vitreous layer supports the binding of cementum to dentin.

The rationale for using enamel matrix-derived proteins, such as Emdogain, in attempts to stimulate cementum reproduction in periodontal bone defects is based on the presence of enamel matrix-like proteins in the vitreous layer.