Teeth inspire aerospace design

The sophisticated structure of human teeth could inspire future designs of aircraft and space vehicles.

So believe engineers at Tel Aviv University's School of Mechanical Engineering, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and George Washington University in the US.

The team has sought to discover why teeth can withstand enormous pressure, over many years, when tooth enamel is only about as strong as glass. The results, they hope, could be applied to aerospace design.

The researchers applied varying degrees of mechanical pressure to hundreds of extracted teeth and studied what occurred on the surface and deep inside them.

‘Teeth are made from an extremely sophisticated composite material that reacts in an extraordinary way under pressure,’ said lead researcher Herzl Chai, a mechanical engineer from Tel Aviv University. ‘Teeth exhibit graded mechanical properties and a cathedral-like geometry and, over time, they develop a network of micro-cracks that help diffuse stress. This, and the tooth's built-in ability to heal the micro-cracks over time, prevents it from fracturing into large pieces when we eat hard food, such as nuts.’