A Morphological Study of Enamel-Dentin Border on the Japanese Dentition

Abstract

The authors dercribed the crown characters of the Japanese permanent dentition on the exterior surface of enamel and on the interior surface of dentinoenamel border in previous chapters. The present article gives general conclusion as the last chapter of this work. The junction of the enamel and dentin has been investigated in several ways in the past. We used acid to dissolve away the enamel for our studies of the dentin core, and interpreted many of the outer enamel morphologic markings related to the dentin core topography.On the dentinoenamel junction of the teeth of recent man, many primitive characters are frequently and clearly observed. These characters may be homologous with those observed on the enamel surfaces of the permanent teeth of fossil and recent primates and the earliest known hominids, and of the deciduous teeth of fossil and recent hominids. Taking the results of our studies into consideration, it seems clear that the characters on the dentinoenamel junction show phylogenetically more primitive or conservative conditions in relation to the exterior surface of the enamel layer, so a morphologic study of the dentinoenamel junction should play an important role in morphologic interpretation of various dental traits and studies on phylogeny of the dentition.