Scanning electron microscopic study of

odontoblasts and circumpulpal dentin in

a human tooth
Dominique Marion,O Alain Jean,a Henri Hamel,b Lise-Marie Kerebel, PhD,C and
Bertrand Kerebel,d Nantes, France

INSERM RESEARCH UNIT AND DENTAL FACULTY

Two combined scanning electron microscopic methods including modified fixative procedures were used for
studying the morphologic aspects of the odontoblasts and the corresponding dentinal wall at different
endodontic levels. The odontoblasts were tightly packed in the pulp horn, where they assumed pear-shaped
profiles and, from crown to apex, successively looked spindle shaped, club shaped, and globular. Their
number decreased in the pulp radicular portion, where the interglobular spaces were enlarged. The filling
fibrillar material varied from crown to apex. A globular circumpulpal dentin was observed at all levels of the
root canal. The tubule openings varied in number and size.
(ORAL SURG ORAL MED T)RAL PATHOL 1991;72:473-8)

I n the last decadescanningelectron microscopy

@EM) hasbeenusedto checkthe efficiencyof end-
odonticinstrumentsandof varioussolutionsusedfor
canalirrigation.l-4 However,the variousparietalar-
easof the endodonticsystemarenot yet well known.
Becauseof technicaldifficultiesrelatedto fixationand
preparationprocedures,reliable SEM observations
are uncommon.5Actually, surfaceconditionsafter
instrumentalproceduresare describedwithout refer-
enceto the initial state.The purposeof the present
studywasto developa descriptivecatalogof the mor-
phologicaspectsof the odontoblastsand the corre-
spondingdentinalwall at differentendodonticlevels
with two combinedSEM methods.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
A soundupperleft first premolarwasremovedsur-
gically from a 43-year-oldwoman whoseocclusion

BProfessor, Department of Endodontics.

bProfessor and Chief, Department of Endodontics, and Dean of
Dental Faculty.
CResearcher.
dProfessor and Chief, Department of Biology and Basic Sciences,
and Director, INSERM Unit U. 225. Fig. 1. Overall view of odontoblasts. (SEM; original
7/15/28788 magnification, X370.)

473
474 Marion et al. ORAL SURG ORAL MED ORAL PATHOL
October 1991

Fig. 2. Overall view of circumpulpal dentin. @EM; orig- Fig. 4. Aspect of dentin in pulp horn. (SEM; original
inal magnification, X370.) magnification, X2300.)

Fig. 3. Pulp horn. Note pear-shaped aspect of odonto- Fig. 5. Spindle-shaped aspect of odontoblasts at proxi-
blasts. (SEM; original magnification, X2300.) ma1midpulpal level. (SEM; original magnification, X2300.)
Volume 72 SEM study of human odontoblasts and dentin 475
Number 4

Fig.6. Aspect of dentin at proximal midpulpal level. Fig.6. Aspect of dentin at root coronal third level.
(SEM; original magnification, X2300.) @EM; original magnification, x2300.)

Fig. 7. Odontoblasts assuming club-shaped profiles at Fig. 9. Odontoblasts assuming short, club-shaped pro-
root coronal third level. (SEM; original magnification, files at root midthird level. (SEM; original magnification,
x2300.) x2300.)
476 Marion et al.
Fig. 10. Note smooth aspect of globular dentinal relief at
root midthird level. (SEM; original magnification, X2300.)
was normal. Extraction was performed with the
patient under local anesthesia without epinephrine.
The tooth was fractured along its longitudinal axis,
and the specimens were prepared for SEM examina-
tion according to a previously described method5 in-
volving postfixation in tannic acid. The cytologic as-
pects of the odontoblasts at different levels of the pulp
chamber and radicular canal were studied with Hita-
chi S 450 and JEOL JSM 35 scanning electron
microscopes. The same specimens were then cleaned
ultrasonically for 5 minutes in a 2.5% sodium hy-
pochlorite solution, prepared again for SEM, and ex-
amined with both aforementioned microscopes, to
study the mineral aspects of the circumpulpal dentin
corresponding to the areas where the odontoblasts had
been observed previously.
RESULTS
The overall views of the same area of the circumpul-
pal dentin examined twice showed first the space dis-
tribution of the odontoblasts (Fig. l), then the glob-
ular aspect of the dentin after removal of the odonto-
blasts (Fig. 2).
At the pulp horn level the odontoblastic cell bodies
appeared as elongated pears (Fig. 3) arranged in close
contact with each other. The basal (pulpal) pole was
bulging. The cell bodies were 5 pm in diameter and
ORAL SURG ORAL MED ORAL PATHOL
October 199I
Fig. 11. Odontoblasts seen as disjoined globules at root
apical third level. (SEM; original magnification, X2300.)
varied in length, seemingly assuming a stratified as-
pect. The underlying dentin (Fig. 4) was pitted with
several wide tubules (2 pm in diameter) and had flat-
tened profiles. The disjoined dentinal globules were
irregular in shape and often notched, and varied in
size.
At the proximal midpulpal level the spindle-shaped
odontoblasts (Fig. 5) looked less tightly packed than
described earlier. The intercellular spaces were filled
with fibrillar structures with spiral profiles. The sur-
face of the corresponding dentinal wall (Fig. 6)
appeared evenly globular. The globules were joined
and round. Only a few of them had the notched aspect.
There were as many tubule openings as previously
observed, and their diameter was about the same.
At the root coronal third level the cell bodies (Fig.
7) were randomly distributed, with enlarged intercel-
lular spaces containing a scanty fibrillar material.
They assumed club-shaped profiles, and their bulging
pulpal pole continued in a short pedicle. The dentinal
globules (Fig. 8) were variable in size, and less tightly
packed than previously observed, inducing interglob-
ular spaces. The tubule openings were reduced in
number, randomly distributed, and smaller in diam-
eter (1.5 to 2 pm).
At the root midthird the intercellular spaces were
enlarged (Fig. 9) and filled with an ill-defined fibrillar
Volume 72
Number 4
Fig.12. Aspect of dentin at root apical third level.
@EM; original magnification, X2300.)
material. The cell bodies assumed short, clubbed pro-
files. The whole cell body, not only the basal pole, was
bulging. The circumpulpal dentin (Fig. 10) showed a
smoother globular relief. The tubule openings were
fewer and varied in diameter (1.5 to 2 pm) as in the
coronal third.
At the root apical third the cell bodies (Fig. 11)
were definitely disjoined and assumed compact glob-
ular profiles. The intercellular spaces were filled with
profuse fibrillar material arranged in large bundles or
in fine fibrils. The dentinal wall (Fig. 12) had globules
with a smooth surface. The scanty tubules were ran-
domly distributed and small in diameter (1 pm); some
were in the process of obliteration.
The various shapes of the odontoblasts are summa-
rized in Fig. 13.
DISCUSSION
The study of the functional unit constituted by the
pulpodentinal complex is not easy, because of the in-
terface between a mineralized structure and highly
differentiated cells. Histologic examination provides
only single-plane views of the odontoblasts, and until
recently’ SEM images showed many artifacts. Our
technique allows to reduce SEM artifacts as shown by
measurements of the cell processes at the basal pole,
SEM study of human odontoblasts and dentin 477
Fig. 13. Diagram summarizing shape variations of od-
ontoblasts. a, Pulp horn (pear shape); b, proximal midpul-
pal level (spindle shape); c, root coronal third level (elon-
gated club shape); d, root midthird (short club shape); e,
root apical third (globules).
which correspond exactly to those of the tubule open-
ings. It is therefore possible to compare the results
obtained from SEM examination of both the coronal
and radicular zone, which has not yet been performed.
The present SEM survey along the whole cir-
cumpulpal dentin shows that the odontoblasts form a
single layer, which often assumes a pseudostratified
aspect when examined by light microscopy.6“4 The
cell bodies are arranged vertical to the dentinal
surface. When measured at the coronal level, their
size is similar to that reported by other investiga-
tors 799, 15-17
Classic data generally refer to the dentinal coronal
level. A change in the structure of the odontoblasts,
columnar in the crown and more cuboid in the apical
area, has been reported on the basis of histologic sec-
tions only.16y I7 The present investigation provides as-
sessment of the three-dimensional aspects of the
odontoblasts at different endodontic levels. They ap-
pear tightly packed in the pulp horn and successively
pear shaped, spindle shaped, club shaped, or globular
from the crown to the apex.
The intercellular spaces observed might be due to
a decrease in the number of cells with age.16 Consid-
ering our patient’s age (43 years), it is obvious that
dentinogenesis is in a less active synthetic state than
during the first stages of dentinogenesis. The disjoined
cells described in the present study might be the re-
sult of a disruption of the intercellular connections
reported in transmission electron microscopy10 and
SEM,S which means that the odontoblasts might be in
a resting state.17
The surface conditions of the circumpulpal dentin
have been studied at the coronal level only, during the
active stage of dentinogenesis.18 The three-dimen-
sional variations in the structure of the dentinal sur-
face at the coronal and radicular levels have never
been compared before. The present data show the
dentinal surface to be evenly globular, whereas this
478 Marion et al. ORAL SURG ORAL MED ORAL PATHOL
October 1991

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