Tooth Development: 1. Generating Teeth in the Embryo

From Volume 33, Issue 10, December 2006 | Pages 582-591

Authors

Maisa Seppala

DDS

Postgraduate Student, Floor 22 Guy's Hospital, GKT Dental Institute, King's College London, London SEI 9RT, UK

Articles by Maisa Seppala

Maria Zoupa

BSc, MSc

Postgraduate Student, Floor 22 Guy's Hospital, GKT Dental Institute, King's College London, London SEI 9RT, UK

Articles by Maria Zoupa

Obinna Onyekwelu

BSc(Hons), AKC

Medical Student, Floor 22 Guy's Hospital, GKT Dental Institute, King's College London, London SEI 9RT, UK

Articles by Obinna Onyekwelu

Martyn T Cobourne

FDS RCS, FDS(Orth) RCS, PhD

Senior Lecturer/Hon Consultant in Orthodontics, Department of Orthodontics and Craniofacial Development, Floor 22 Guy's Hospital, GKT Dental Institute, King's College London, London SEI 9RT, UK

Articles by Martyn T Cobourne

Abstract

Teeth are organs that develop in the embryo via a series of interactions between oral epithelium and neural crest-derived ectomesenchyme of the early jaws. These interactions are initiated by the regional production of signalling molecules in the oral epithelium and the transfer of information to the underlying mesenchyme via homeobox gene transcription. This article describes how these interactions are co-ordinated in the embryo during development of the dentition and provides a theoretical basis for the second article in this series; understanding how biologists are attempting to generate teeth artificially in the laboratory.

Article