DEVELOPMENTAL DISTURBANCES OF ENAMEL IN SCURVY

¹ Upsala, Sweden

Developmental disturbances of enamel in scurvy and in the first stage of cure of scurvy were studied in molars and incisors of a large number of guinea pigs.

1. The first and characteristic change of enamel in scurvy is dysfunction, i.e., the inability of the ameloblasts to produce enamel matrix (aplasia and hypoplasia) due to the retardation and complete cessation of the development of dentin in the molars.

2. The secondary and nontypical scorbutic changes are the disturbances of formation (hypoplasia) and of maturation (hypocalcification) due to the detachment or pressure atrophy of the ameloblasts caused by the bending of the tooth or by the transmission of the masticatory forces into the formative portion of the tooth. These changes can be observed both in molars and in incisors.

3. The additional uptake of minerals into the enamel during the maturation phase is determined by the activity of the ameloblasts, not by the function of the pulp through the dentinoenamel junction.

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				TOOTH DEVELOPMENT (continued from page 116) The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, March 1, 1965; 85(2): 127 - 127.