Three-dimensional reconstruction of enamel thickness and volume in humans and hominoids.

Enamel thickness is an important diagnostic characteristic in Hominoidea. However, the sample size is extremely small, relying upon mostly fractured specimens and a few sectioned specimens, providing an estimate of enamel thickness only. What is needed to fully understand the significance of enamel thickness is a non-destructive technique that is able to obtain the thickness, density, and volume of the dental hard tissues of large samples, thereby providing an accurate means of relating thickness, area, volume, and the pattern of distribution of both enamel and dentin.