Ultrastructural features of the dental follicle associated with formation of the tooth eruption pathway in the dog

The dental follicle is a loose connective tissue layer that surrounds the developing and erupting tooth. The follicle is necessary for tooth eruption in dogs and specific cellular changes occur in the follicle at the onset of tooth eruption. In particular, within the coronal region of the follicle next to areas of subsequent bone resorption there is an increase in mononuclear cells which have the ultrastructure features of monocytes and contain specific granules characteristic of preosteoclasts. The follicle has an extensive microvasculature and monocytes are often seen adjacent to capillaries and venules. Monocytes increase in number in direct proportion to the increase in osteoclasts that form the eruption pathway and decrease in number as soon as this activity is completed. It is postulated that monocytes enter the follicle from the microvasculature and then migrate to the walls of the bony crypt to participate in the formation of the eruption pathway.