The fracture properties and toughening mechanisms of bone and dentin

The mechanical properties of bone and dentin and in particular their fracture properties, are the subject of intense research. The relevance of these properties is increasing as our population ages and fracture incidence impacts the lives of a greater portion of the population. A robust framework is needed to understand the fracture properties of bone and dentin to guide researchers as they attempt to characterize the effects of aging, disease, and pharmaceutical treatments on the properties of these mineralized tissues. In the present work, this framework is provided and applied to human bone, human dentin, and animal bone. In situ electron microscopy was also used to identify the salient toughening mechanisms in bone and dentin. It was found that bone and dentin are extrinsically toughened materials and consequently their fracture properties are best characterized utilizing a crack-growth resistance approach. A description of the different mechanical measurements commonly employed when using small animal models (rats and mice) to evaluate the influence of drug therapies on bone fragility is provided. A study where these properties were measured for a large population of wild-type rats and mice was also conducted. Given my findings, it was determined that for the most complete understanding of small animal bone it was necessary to measure strength and toughness. Strength measurements probe the flaw distribution and toughness measurements to evaluate the resistance to facture in the presence of a single dominant worst-case flaw.