The purpose of this work was to study the possibility of using atomic force microscopy in the assessment of morphostructural changes at increased erasability of teeth. For the experiment, 100 teeth samples from patients of various age groups living in the North Caucasus Federal District of Russia were obtained. Atomic force microscopy made it possible to establish that in teeth with manifestations of increased erasability, the diameter of the tubes and their number are smaller both on the surface (3.8 times) and in the middle layer (2.2 times) than in the control group. The orientation of the tubes was indistinctly expressed, the surface has a flattened, smoothed relief. The uniformity of the dentin structure was most likely associated with inclusions of foreign substances, pigments penetrating from the oral cavity through the exposed surface of dentin in the abrasion facet, as well as with the protective function of the pulp and activation of the synthesis of substitutive (irregular) dentin. The lumen of the surface tubules was reduced or even completely obliterated. Hypermineralization zones around dentine tubules were expanding, associated with a dense arrangement of mineral crystals and globules, and the microhardness of the surface layer was increasing. In deeper layers, pathological changes were less pronounced. The structure of dentin resembles the structure of the 2nd and 3rd layers of healthy dentin. However, the lumen of the dentine tubules was still smaller (up to 0.5 µm).
