Demonstration of lipids in the pathologic granules in cementum and dentin in periodontal disease

Granules can be demonstrated in dental cementum which has been exposed to the oral environment as a result of gingival retraction. In the present study frozen sections of decalcified, periodontally diseased teeth were stained by the Sudan black and Schultz-Hershberger methods, which indicated that the granules contained cholesterol or steroids. The lipid content of cementum suggests that the outer layer of cementum has been penetrated by exogeneous substances of bacterial or salivary origin.