336 s. n. bhaskar 



Summary 



It is apparent that during both the eruption and the shedding of 

 human teeth there is an intimate correlation between the changes 

 in the tooth and those in the surrounding bone. During tooth devel- 

 opment and growth, the growth of the epithelial dental organ pro- 

 duces changes in the surrounding mesenchyme which lead to resorp- 

 tion of bone. Whether this bone resorption is a result of growth 

 pressure of the tooth germ and surroimding mesenchyme on the 

 bony crypt or is a function of a genetically predetermined pattern 

 of bone remodeling (as in the metaphyseal area of long bones) is 

 difficult to determine. During the movement of teeth out of the 

 jaws, the internal reconstruction of the sockets consists essentially 

 of bone apposition. Whether this process is the result or the cause of 

 eruption has not been established, but its intimacy with the active 

 eruptive phase is unquestioned. 



The period of tooth shedding is again marked by extensive re- 

 modeling of the alveolar process. The sockets of the deciduous 

 teeth are destroyed by the erupting permanent teeth and rebuilt to 

 adapt to their much larger roots. 



In short, the remodeling of alveolar processes of the jaws is a 

 continuous process which begins with the beginning of odonto- 

 genesis and does not cease until all the teeth have been lost. 



References 



Bhaskar, S. N. 1953. Growth pattern of the rat mandible from 13 days in- 

 semination age to 30 days after birth. Am. J. Anat., 92, 1-54. 



Bhaskar, S. N. 1962. Synopsis of Oral Histology. C. V. Mosby Co., St. 

 Louis, Mo. 



Bhaskar, S. N., Mohammed, C. I., and Weinmann, J. P. 1956. A morpho- 

 logical and histo-chemical study of osteoclasts. /. Bone and Joint 

 Surg., 38A, 1335-1345. 



Bhaskar, S. N., Schour, I., Creep, R. O., and Weinmann, J. P. 1952. The 

 corrective eflFect of parathyroid hormone on genetic anomalies in the 

 dentition and the tibia of the ia rat. /. Derital Research, 31, 257-270. 



Bhaskar, S. N., Weinmann, J. P., Schour, I., and Creep, R. O. 1950. The 

 growth pattern of the tibia in normal and ia rats. Am. J. Anat., 86, 

 439-478. 



