Contrary to popular belief, teeth are not made of bone. That is, teeth are not bones, but rather are made up of various mineralized tissues, one of which is tooth enamel.
Specifically, it's a tissue made up of hydroxyapatite and proteins (in very small proportions). The most curious thing, and what has perhaps led many people to believe it's actually bone, is that enamel is the hardest tissue in the human body. This astonishing hardness is provided by hydroxyapatite, which is the hardest mineral in the human body (it's more mineralized than bones).
The tooth is made up of 3 main layers: the outer layer called enamel, the middle layer called dentin, and the inner layer, called pulp.
Dental enamel is a 2 to 3 millimeter thick layer that covers all teeth, but only the visible portion. Enamel is translucent and insensitive to pain because it lacks nerve endings.
Dentin is the layer beneath the enamel and is responsible for the tooth's color. Its properties are: color, radiopacity, translucency, elasticity, hardness, and permeability. Beneath the dentin is the pulp. It is made up of soft tissue that contains the tooth's vascular-nervous system, comprised of nerves, a vein, and an artery. Its activities are: temperature-inducing, formative, nutritive, sensory, defensive, and reparative.
Source: muysaludable.sanitas.es
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