Defects of Enamel in Sheep Resulting from Trauma During Tooth Development

Abstract

Defects of enamel were produced by inserting an instrument into the tooth crypt of developing permanent incisor teeth in sheep. The activity of the labial ameloblasts was deduced from tooth length at the time of trauma. Missing enamel (hypoplasia) resulted when secretory ameloblasts were damaged. Opacities (hypocalcification) followed trauma to the cells in their maturation phase.