What does decalcification look like?
The enamel structure of the tooth is made up of “enamel rods” (pictured below) that when sound are straight, tall & closely packed together. Enamel rods are crystal-like in nature and are translucent allowing light to pass through. When decalcification occurs, the enamel rods will become irregular, breaking down the crystal structure causing them not to stand as tall, allowing more spacing between, and ultimately does not allow light to pass through the same as sound enamel.
