The presence of nerve fibres in the coronal odontoblast layer of teeth at various stages of root development

Abstract

Many studies have investigated the presence of nerve fibres in the coronal odontoblast layer of mature teeth. However, little information is available on the presence of these structures in immature human teeth. The pulps of 18 human maxillary and mandibular third molars at various stages of development were collected, sectioned, and stained by the immunoperoxidase technique. The results showed the presence of numerous myelinated nerve fibres in the coronal odontoblast layer of teeth with fully formed roots. Similar observations were made in teeth with half formed roots, and in those without roots. On the basis of these results, it appears that a lack of response to vitality tests in teeth with incompletely formed roots is not wholly due to the absence of nerve fibres in the coronal odontoblast layer.