Summary
In view of the belief that tetracycline is removed from bone when it is demineralized, it was decided to investigate the effect of demineralizing agents on human dentine. Teeth which had been stained in vivo with tetracycline were fixed in formalin and demineralized using mineral and organic acids and EDTA at neutral pH. When examined microscopically under ultraviolet light, the tetracycline lines in dentine, although reduced in intensity, were all still present. This indicates that formalin fixation does not appreciably alter the fluorescent effect of tetracycline in teeth and that it is not removed by demineralization.
It seems likely therefore that tetracycline is incorporated in both the mineral and organic phases of human dentine.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Milch, R.A., Tobie, J.E., Robinson, R.A.: A microscopic study of tetracycline localization in skeletal neoplasms, J. Histochem.9:261–270, 1961
Finerman, G.A.M., Milch, R.A.:In vitro binding of tetracyclines to calcium, Nature198:486–487, 1963
Jacobs, R., Harris, W.H., Katz, E.P., Glimcher, M.J.: The interaction between tetracycline and reconstituted guineapig-skin collagenin vitro, Biochim. Biophys. Acta86:579–587, 1964
Frost, H.M.: Tetracycline bone labelling in anatomy, Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.29:183–196, 1968
Frost, H.M.: Tetracycline-based histological analysis of bone remodelling, Calcif. Tissue Res.3:211–237, 1969
Deeb, S., Herrmann, H.-J.: Tetracycline-labelling as a method for detecting the bone demineralization of parathormonetreated rats, Acta Histochem. (Jena)50:35–42, 1974
Tonna, E.A.: In D.J. Simmons, A.S. Kunin (eds.): Skeletal Research. An Experimental Approach, pp. 487–563 Academic Press, New York, 1979
Findlay, J.A., Steel, F.L.D.: The use of tetracyclines for measuring mandibular growth in the rat, Acta Anat. (Basel)72:263–275, 1969
Steendijk, R.: Studies on the mechanism of the fixation of tetracycline to bone, Acta Anat. (Basel)56:368–382, 1964
Stewart, D.J.: The re-incorporation in calcified tissues of tetracycline released following its deposition in the bone of rats, Arch. Oral Biol.18:759–763, 1973
Kawasaki, K.: On the configuration of incremental lines in human dentine as revealed by tetracycline labelling, J. Anat.119:63–66, 1975
Bevelander, G., Nakahara, H.: Correlation between tetracycline binding and mineralization in dentine and enamel, Anat. Rec.153:141–148
Lemperg, R.: The subchondral bone plate of the femoral head in adult rabbits. II. Changes induced by intracartilagenous defects studied by microradiography and tetracycline labelling, Virchows Arch. Pathol. Anat.352:14–25, 1971
Kawasaki, K., Fearnhead, R.W.: On the relationship between tetracycline and the incremental lines in dentine, J. Anat.119:49–59, 1975
Lambrou, D.B., Tahos, B.S., Lambrou, K.D.:In vitro studies of the phenomenon of tetracycline incorporation into enamel, J. Dent. Res.56:1527–1532, 1977
Milch, R.A., Rall, D.P., Tobie, J.E.: Fluorescence of tetracycline antibiotics in bone, J. Bone Joint Surg.40-A:897–910, 1958
Myers, H.M.: Alizarin and tetracycline binding by bone mineral, Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.29:179–182, 1968
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Simpson, M.S. Effects of demineralizing tetracycline-stained human dentine. Calcif Tissue Int 33, 101–104 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02409420
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02409420