The rate of tertiary (reparative) dentine formation in the human tooth

Abstract

In view of the increased interest in the biologic potential of the human dental pulp, the rather misleading statements concerning the rate of tertiary (reparative) dentine formation indicate the necessity of establishing some guidelines for this process. A histologic study of 108 human teeth with Class V cavities prepared by high- and low-speed methods with and without coolants was carried out. Little evidence of tertiary dentine formation was apparent prior to the thirtieth post-operative day. The rate of formation was highest initially in the 27- to 48-day interval (3.5 μ per day); it decreased markedly after the forty-eighth day of the experimental period to 0.74 μ per day; and it decreased further to 0.23 μ in the 72- to 132-day period. The average rate for the total length of the study was 1.49 μ per active day. The factor of remaining dentine thickness by itself did not appear to effect tertiary dentine production. However, operative techniques inducing considerable trauma were capable of slightly increasing the production of tertiary dentine.