Researchers in Germany have studied the tooth structure of seven different rodent species and found a material that is key to the resilience of their teeth.

The study led by EARA member the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Solid State Research, in Stuttgart, used nanoscale imaging techniques to study the teeth of beavers, marmots, mice, nutrias, rats, squirrels and voles.

Rodent teeth are different to ours in that their incisors grow continuously. Because they gnaw, their teeth have especially tough enamel – the hardest material tissue in the body of a mammal.

The researchers discovered that it is an iron-containing material in the enamel that makes rodent teeth so tough.

These insights could one day be applied to develop new dental materials to protect human tooth enamel, or develop synthetic enamel to improve dental repairs.