Prenatal development of the alveolar bone of human deciduous incisors and canines

The formation of the human alveolar process around the incisors and canines is a hitherto unreported aspect of fetal oral development. The question is how, where, and when the alveolar process is formed. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the questions where and when and hence to analyze the pattern of formation of the alveolar bone around developing human deciduous canine and incisor teeth. The study was conducted with material selected from a sample of 61 normal human fetuses, legally or spontaneously aborted. Fertilization ages ranged from 9 to 22 weeks, crown-rump Length from 25 to 205 mm, and foot length from 4 to 34 mm. From this material, 7 maxillae and 10 mandibles were selected for the study according to developmental stages of the canines and incisors and according to the orientation of the histological sections. The skeletal investigation consisted of macroscopic and microscopic analysis of the mandibles and maxillae. The investigations revealed the absence of bone between the central and lateral incisors in the mandibles and maxillae of fetuses below the ages of 21 and 22 weeks, respectively. In three specimens, alveolar bone between the central and lateral incisors was recorded (21, 21, and 22 weeks of fertilization). Absence of bone labial to the canine was recorded in all fetuses investigated. In all other regions, alveolar bone occurred as a regular finding. The present study has shown that alveolar bone formation is strictly coordinated with tooth formation. Alveolar bone occurs later in the area labial to the canine and in the region between the central and lateral incisors than it does in other areas associated with the incisor/canine regions. Knowledge of this pattern in the formation of the alveolar process seems to be of importance for a future elucidation of how the alveolar process is initially formed.