The distribution of nerves in human primary teeth This study was supported in part by U.S.P.H.S. research grant DE 01604 from the National Institute of Dental Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland and grant 695 of the H. Rackham Fund of the University of Michigan.

Abstract

Human primary teeth in the stages of late root formation, root completion and root resorption were impregnated with silver to allow study of the distribution of nerves in the pulp. Neural trunks composed of many individual, myelinated nerve fibers enter the apical foramen of primary teeth and pass in a coronal direction, often in close association with blood vessels. Neural trunks in the crowns of the teeth divide into smaller branches, which divide further into myelinated nerve fibers, which become interwoven to form the parietal layer (plexus of Raschkow). An occasional unmyelinated fiber leaves this zone and passes into the odontoblastic layer of cells where it appears to terminate with no specialized ending apparent. No nerves were seen to enter the predentin or dentin. As primary teeth begin to undergo root resorption, degenerative changes such as thickenings, varicosities and fragmentation appear in the nerves. The quantity of neural tissue also decreases. The greater the amount of resorption, the greater are the degenerative changes. In teeth in which the roots are almost completely resorbed, only a small number of nerves remain. The pattern of distribution of nerves in primary teeth is observed to be similar to that of permanent teeth. The density of the innervation of the primary teeth, however, is not found to be as great as that of permanent teeth.