Author

Ophir Klein

Additional Author(s): Kyle Burke Jones, Andrew H. Jheon, Kerstin Seidel, Brian Biehs

Published on SDB CoRe: Jun 22 2012

Organisms: Vertebrates
Ectoderm-derived: Neural Crest
Stem Cells: Adult Stem Cells
Regeneration: Tissue Renewal
Organism: Mouse, Human
Stage of Development: Adult

Object Description

Vertebrates display major variations in tooth size, shape, and number. Humans possess incisors, canines, premolars, and molars in their upper (maxilla) and lower (mandible) jaws (a,b). The dentition is highly specialized in mice, which are the most commonly used model to study tooth development (c,d). In each quadrant of the mouse jaw, a single incisor is separated from three molars by a toothless region called the diastema. Although differences in tooth size, shape, and number are observed between humans and mice, all mammalian teeth develop utilizing similar molecular and cellular pathways. Rodent incisors are unusual because they grow continuously throughout the life of the animal. This tooth renewal is a property attributed to the presence of adult stem cells in the proximal end of the incisors. Rodents, however, do not have replacement teeth like humans.  Note the 3rd molars (M3) or wisdom teeth are not present in the human subject. I, incisor; I1, central incisor; I2, lateral incisor; C, canine; PM1, first premolar; PM2, second premolar; M1, first molar, M2, second molar; M3, third molar; D, diastema. Images are courtesy of Dr. Kyle Burke Jones, UCSF. WIREs Dev Biol 2012. DOI: 10.1002/wdev.63

References

Jheon, A.H., Seidel, K., Biehs, B., Klein, O.D. From molecules to mastication: the development and evolution of teeth. WIREs Dev Biol, 2012, Published Online: May 03 2012.

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