Fine Structure of the Matrix of the Response in Rat Incisor Dentin to Injected Strontium

¹ Department of Histology, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois

The hypomineralized component of the response produced by strontium was examined in the electron microscope. In sections demineralized and stained with phosphotungstic acid, the matrix of this component contained pools of heavily stained, homogeneous, interfibrillar material, presumably non-fibrillar collagen. These observations are compatible with the previous interpretation of the alteration in matrix derived from light-microscope studies of the hypomineralized component of the similar response produced by fluoride. The inhibition of aggregation of collagen into its fibrillar form could account for the inhibition of mineralization resulting in the hypomineralized component.