Effect of Artificially Induced Hyperpyrexia on Tooth Structure of the Rabbit

The increasing therapeutic importance of artificially induced fever raises the question of its effect on developing tooth structure. Damage to the enamel by infections accompanied by high fever during the period of tooth formation has been recognized clinically for many years. It is evidenced as a hypoplastic condition with superficial pits and grooves, often markedly disfiguring the anterior teeth. Detrimental effects in the dentin would be an internal dystrophy and would escape clinical notice but might well be expected under conditions which would affect the enamel.Normal dentin is a homogeneously calcified tissue produced by the dental pulp. It is laid down around the periphery of the pulp in periodic increments as an organic matrix which is subsequently calcified to a bone-like consistency. Unlike bone, dentin once formed is not subject to further physiologic change to any marked degree, and hence it affords a permanent record of any variations in the calcification process. The dentin of the continuo...