Bacterial Invasion of Non-vital Dentin

Abstract

The crowns of 5 freshly extracted premolars from which the occlusal enamel and pulps had been removed were worn in the mouth. Subsequent examination of gram-stained decalcified sections revealed that in all 5, bacteria had invaded the odontoblastic processes. In 5 controls without enamel removed, bacteria were observed once. The difference is significant at the 0.02 level and shows that if odontoblastic processes succumb they are prone to invasion of oral bacteria.