Abstract
BackgroundScientific knowledge regarding alpaca dentistry is relatively limited despite its clinical implications. The present gap in available supportive data leads to limited treatment options for dental pathology in alpacas in comparison to other species. The main goal of this study was to gain novel insights into the general and pulp morphology of maxillary cheek teeth to allow development of more advanced treatment strategies in the future. Also, the risk of causing pulp exposure when floating maxillary cheek teeth was of particular interest. Concurent research focusing on the anatomy of mandibular cheek teeth has been performed accordingly. The results obtained in mandibular teeth are expected to be non-extrapolatable because of the structural differences between mandibular and maxillary teeth.ResultsPulp morphology of maxillary cheek teeth showed great variation. A common pulp chamber was identified in 46/83 (55.4%) teeth with a mean dental age of 2 years and 7 months (± 2 years and 5 months). Pulpal segmentation was more commonly observed in teeth of increasing age. Full columnar segmentation was seen in 33/69 teeth (47.8%), whereas within-column segmentation was observed in 36/83 teeth (43.4%). Age and degree of segmentation of the pulpal tissue varied greatly according to Triadan position. Physical contact between roots of adjacent teeth was found in the majority of examined molars (range 82–94%) which resulted in morphological adaptations at the level of the root tips. The measured sub-occlusal dentinal thickness was as low as 0.46 mm above pulp horn 2 in a 14 years and 11 months old Triadan 09, emphasizing the risk of pulp exposure attributed to dental floating.ConclusionThis study offers an objective description of age-dependent maxillary cheek teeth pulp morphology in alpacas. Current findings are of great value to provide a basis for the development of tooth-saving techniques as a treatment for dental disease in this species. Observed physical contact between the roots of different examined molars may be a facilitating factor in the spread of apical infection in chronically diseased cases. Finally, a conservative approach regarding dental floating is recommended in order to avoid iatrogenic damage to pulp tissue.
Highlights
Scientific knowledge regarding alpaca dentistry is relatively limited despite its clinical implications
Only a small Triadan 07 could be perceived in animals aged 4 years and 3 months and older, which consisted of 1 column, no infundibula and two roots
The results of the present study are complementary to the results of a comparable study on mandibular cheek tooth anatomy in alpacas by the same authors
Summary
Scientific knowledge regarding alpaca dentistry is relatively limited despite its clinical implications. A lack of sufficient in-depth scientific knowledge with regards to normal anatomy and physiology of alpaca cheek teeth hinders proper understanding of the pathogenesis of specific dental problems [5, 6] Both detailed information on external anatomical conformation as well as internal pulp characteristics of alpaca cheek teeth are of particular interest in understanding dental pathology and are necessary for the development of efficient advanced treatment strategies. In aforementioned micro-computed tomography (μ-CT) study on alpaca mandibular cheek teeth detailed insights into general anatomy, specific pulp morphology and SODT are provided [8] These results cannot be extrapolated to the maxillary dental arcades as has been demonstrated in different other species such as equids, where gross morphological differences between opposing cheek teeth arcades have been observed [5, 10]. Maxillary cheek teeth in other species have shown a higher variability in pulp configurations [5, 11]
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