The sort of thing that can apply to our ferrets and to us two-legs. <http://www.sciencenews.org/index/generic/activity/view/id/42752/title/More_cracks_are_better_than_one> Science News article title: >MORE CRACKS ARE BETTER THAN ONE >Small, extending tufts may give tooth enamel its strength Part of which says: >...teeth can withstand the force required to hold a 220-pound barbell >steady. Now a team of materials scientists and anthropologists reports >how the structure of tooth enamel gives teeth the strength to bear a >lifetime of chewing... Then it goes into how the many little cracks that the enamel gets actually make the teeth STRONGER, including: >Where enamel meets dentin, the material that makes up the bulk of the >tooth, small cracks known as tufts develop in the enamel, pointing >from the inside outward. When serious force is applied to the tooth, >the length of several tufts may extend, the team now reports online >April 13 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. > >So rather than shattering in one long crack, a tooth distributes force >among many small cracks. Tufts make a tooth tough by bearing the >weight together, resulting in enamel that behaves more like concrete >than glass, Lawn says. Isn't that a cool surprise? The little cracks are GOOD and make for stronger teeth! Of course, problems arise when/if little cracks become big cracks... I found some related (to varying degrees) abstracts for those who are interested: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19329454 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19269906 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19268644 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18348196 Sukie (not a vet) Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html http://www.miamiferret.org/ http://www.ferretcongress.org/ http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html [Posted in FML 6302]
