Differences in Nerve Distribution between Erupted and Non-erupted Human Teeth

¹ Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

Human third molars, both erupted and non-erupted, obtained from individuals between twelve and twenty-four years of age, were used to determine the influence of eruption and/or clinical occlusion upon the distribution of nerve terminals within the dental pulp. Thick frozen sections (75-150,µ) were prepared, and the cut sections were exposed to enzymatic hydrolysis before silver impregnation. The nerve terminals in the pulp of the erupted teeth were traced to the odontoblastic zone. A few nerve fibers formed loops in the predentin. On the other hand, there was a decrease in the number of terminal branches in the pulp of the non-erupted teeth, and those present reached the pulpo-odontoblastic border.

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