People with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are prone to tooth decay, and a new study from Rutgers may explain why: reduced strength and durability of enamel and dentin, the hard substance under enamel that gives structure to teeth. Researchers induced Type 1 diabetes in 35 mice and used a Vickers microhardness tester to compare their teeth with those of 35 healthy controls over 28 weeks. Although the two groups started with comparable teeth, enamel grew significantly softer in the diabetic mice after 12 weeks, and the gap continued to widen throughout the study. Significant differences in dentin microhardness arose by week 28. To read the full story.