CALL THE LOCATION OF TOOTH AGENESIS AND THE LOCATION OF INITIAL BONE LOSS SEEN IN JUVENILE PERIODONTITIS BE EXPLAINED BY NEURAL DEVELOPMENTAL FIELDS IN THE JAWS

Recent studies on prenatal innervation of the jaws have shown that thr ee separate main innervation paths, constituting three bilateral neura l developmental fields (incisor field, canine/premolar field, molar fi eld) exist in each jaw. In this communication the sequence in which th e fields are innervated are indicated. These correspond to the sequenc e of formation of teeth and jawbone. The normal pattern of tooth agene sis is closely related to the neural fields, as the region within a si ngle field where innervation occurs last is always the area most often affected by tooth agenesis. The initial manifestations of juvenile pe riodontitis also appear at the sites within the different fields where innervations occurs last. It is suggested that the pubertal growth of the alveolar process does not occur in these regions due to deficient innervation, and that the infection in juvenile periodontitis might b e secondary to this regional lack of bone apposition.