teethreflects

Teethreflects is a coined term for practices that study how tooth enamel reflects light. It covers interactions of light with dental surfaces, including specular and diffuse reflection, translucency, and surface texture, in order to infer features such as enamel thickness, wear, mineralization, and age-related translucency. The term is not standardized in the peer-reviewed literature and appears mainly in educational materials and some interdisciplinary optics discussions related to dentistry.

Methodology generally uses standardized lighting and calibrated photography; in research contexts it may employ spectrophotometry, hyperspectral imaging, or confocal reflectance imaging. Analysts produce reflectance maps or spectral profiles from tooth surfaces to identify patterns associated with enamel integrity, hypomineralization, fluorosis, or wear facets.

Applications include non-invasive assessment of enamel quality, detection of developmental defects, and elements useful for forensic or anthropological investigations where optical tooth properties aid identification or aging estimates.

Limitations arise from variability in lighting, camera settings, staining, and natural pigmentation, which can confound interpretation. As a result, teethreflects interpretations require controlled imaging conditions and validation against established dental diagnostics.

See also: forensic dentistry, dental photography, optical imaging in dentistry, spectrophotometry in dentistry.