Synthetic apatites containing Na, Mg, and CO3 and their comparison with tooth enamel mineral.

Apatites containing Na, Mg, and CO3 in amounts occurring in tooth enamel mineral were synthesized by precipitation from aqueous solutions. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed only apatitic reflections, which were somewhat broader than those of enamel. X-ray Guinier photographs resulted in diffuse reflections from which the lattice parameters could not be determined. The infrared (IR) absorption spectrum of the synthetic samples was practically identical with that of tooth enamel. However, after heating the samples for 1/2 h at a temperature between 300 and 600 degrees C, no absorption peak was found at 2340 cm-1 as in the IR spectrum of tooth enamel after heating.