Pathologic Changes in the Innervation of the Dental Pulp During the Carious Process

A. PLAKOVÁ ¹

¹ Institute of Dental Research, Vinohradská 48, Prague, Czechoslovakia

Pathologic changes in the innervation of the dental pulp were studied in 80 extracted teeth with carious lesions either untreated or treated with amalgam fillings.

In teeth where the pulp structure was changed to a slight or a great extent, typical changes in the nerve plexus of the pulp were observed. Minor pathologic changes of the pulpal nerve network appeared as pronounced argyrophilia and increased branching in the preterminal and terminal network. In case of pulp inflammation or abscess formation, there appeared a loosening of nerve bundles, occasional abundant irregular nerve branching, irregular thickening or intense coarsening of the nerve fibers, coiling of nerve fibers, and breaking up of the bundles into smaller units and fragmentation of nerve fibers. No distinct difference was found between carious teeth with or without filling as far as the pathologic changes of the pulp innervation were concerned.