Cyclical uptake pattern of tetracycline in post-secretory maturation phase enamel demonstrated in rooted teeth

Uptake of tetracycline by enamel in the short-term was studied at an advanced stage of crown formation and after completion of crown formation in deciduous molars in the cat. Both secretory phase enamel and bands of postsecretory, maturation phase enamel labeled rapidly. The pattern of labeling mimicked that seen in the continuously growing, rootless incisor teeth of the rat, with narrow doublets fusing to form narrow bands with wide unlabeled intervals in the short term. This is a physiological demonstration which indicates that cyclical activity and changes may occur in vivo during the maturation phase of amelogenesis in rooted teeth. It is also noted that dentine did not, and that some circumscribed patches of bone did label in the same animals in the same time interval. Short-term tetracycline labels are lost following conventional histological processing, but are retained after freeze-drying or air-drying.