EN
Dental enamel exhibits a highly mineralised structure and contains not only mineral substances but also organic components. The fine organic elements in the enamel cannot be detected by clinical examinations and most frequently are recognised by in vitro studies. The aim of the present study was to assess selected organic elements of enamel: lamellae, tufts, spindles, bulbs and spheroids and to appraise the suitability of permanent bovine teeth as substitutes of permanent human teeth in dental studies. Examinations were performed on 205 permanent bovine teeth obtained from healthy 2.5- to 4.5-year-old individuals (of black-white lowland race). Tooth sections were obtained by cutting crowns, using a slow revolving diamond disc saw, cooled with distilled water. Following preliminary appraisal and within 24 hours, the sections were stained with various techniques, including azane, picric acid, hematoxylin + picric acid, hematoxylin, eosin, fuchsin, H+E according to Mallory and were then analysed under a Nikon Optiphot-2 light microscope. Variable distributions of the evaluated organic elements of enamel were noted but most of them were located in the projection of smooth surfaces, compared to their location in the projections of incisal margins or masticator surfaces in bovine teeth. Bovine permanent frontal teeth may provide a substitute for human teeth but bovine lateral teeth, however, seem to be of limited use in dental studies.