Morphological and Histochemical Aspects of Carious Dentine in Osborne-Mendel Rats

Abstract

A morphological and histochemical study was carried out on molars of Osborne-Mendel rats fed on Stephan 580 diet. This work was done on nondemineralized material by histological techniques. Successive alterations in the dentine are described: in the initial stage, preceding bacterial infiltration into the tubules demineralization occurred in sheet-like areas and bacteria proliferated along the amelodentinal junction; subsequently a second stage was observed in which the carious process appeared, centred on the infected tubules. During this sequence, mobilization of noncollagenous elements (glycosaminoglycans and glycoproteins) occurs at an early stage, whereas collagen is relatively resistant.