Using dental X-rays, the calcification of various teeth was compared between samples of black southern Africans, white French-Canadians, and prehistoric Native Americans sharing the same stage of calcification of a specified "reference tooth." The French-Canadians have markedly delayed relative development of the M3 compared to the Africans. They also appear delayed in their M2 development comp...

OBJECTIVE In this study, we investigated the influence of ancestry on dental development in the Generation R Study. METHODS Information on geographic ancestry was available in 3,600 children (1,810 boys and 1,790 girls, mean age 9.81 ± 0.35 years) and information about genetic ancestry was available in 2,786 children (1,387 boys and 1,399 girls, mean age 9.82 ± 0.34 years). Dental development...

What are stem cells? As dentists, why should we be concerned with stem cells? How would stem cells change dental practice? Is it possible to grow a tooth or TMJ with stem cells? This article summarizes the latest stem cell research and development for dental, oral and craniofacial applications. Stem cell research and development will, over time, transform dental practice in a magnitude far grea...

Dental caries and periodontal diseases, the two arch criminals of oral cavity, are essentially caused by the micro-organisms present in dental plaque [1]. In India, nearly 60-65% of the child population is affected by dental caries and 10% has periodontitis [2,3]. Dental plaque plays an important role in the development of dental caries and periodontal disease, which results in both dysfunction...

The implantation of cultured re-associations between embryonic dental mesenchymal cells and epithelial cells from mouse molars at embryonic day 14 (ED14) allowed making full teeth with crown, root, periodontal ligament fibers, and bone. Although representing valuable tools to set up methodologies embryonic cells are not easily available. This work thus aimed to replace the embryonic cells by de...

A study of dental plaque was first documented in the literature of the 17th century. It has been described as a biofilm composed of bacterial populations living in a plaque matrix. The plaque development starts short time after a tooth surface is cleaned and covered by salivary proteins and glycoproteins conditioning film. Mutans streptococci was described as the most important bacteria related...

Interactions between ingrowing nerve fibers and their target tissues form the basis for functional connectivity with the central nervous system. Studies of the developing dental pulp innervation by nerve fibers from the trigeminal ganglion is an excellent example of nerve-target tissue interactions and will allow specific questions regarding development of the dental pulp nerve system to be add...