Using a finite element approach the authors model the influence of enamel's microstructure and water distribution on the temperature and stress at the centre of the laser spot, for a CO2 laser working at 10.6 mum, with 0.35 mus pulse duration and subablative intensity. The authors found that the distribution of water in enamel significantly influences the stress generated at the end of one laser pulse: much lower (two orders of magnitude) stress values occur in models with homogeneously distributed water than in models with 0.27 vol.% water located in pores or 4 vol.% in layers. The amount of water in enamel has a strong influence on the stress distribution, but not on the maximum stress values reached. However, different water contents do not influence the temperature distribution in enamel. These results suggest that adequate modelling of the ablation mechanisms in enamel, as in other highly inhomogeneous materials, must include their structure at the mesoscopic scale. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.