An ultrastructural study of the pocket epithelium in rats

The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the biological characteristics of pocket epithelium in experimental periodontitis. Elastic rubber was inserted between the first and second molars of the left maxilla in rats. The rubber was removed after one week, and the animals were sacrificed one week after the removal, i.e., two weeks after the insertion. Sections of the teeth and surrounding tissues were examined by electron microscopy. Periodontal pockets were evident between the tooth surface and epithelial cell layer in the coronal portion. A large number of bacteria surrounded by neutrophils were observed on the cementum surface in the pocket; however, no bacterial invasion could be seen in the epithelium. The epithelial cells were spilt in the central portion by invasion of neutrophils, so that one or two layers of surviving epithelial cells were present on the cementum surface. Numerous fenestrations of capillaries were found in the connective tissue immediately below the epithelium. These results suggest that the pocket epithelium is formed by an intercellular split of the epithelium, not between cementum surface and epithelium.