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. 1976 Sep;42(3):375-80.
doi: 10.1016/0030-4220(76)90171-7.

Studies on melanocytes. V. The presence of melanocytes in the human dental primordium: an explanation for pigmented lesions of the jaws

W Lawson, I F Abaci, F G Zak

Studies on melanocytes. V. The presence of melanocytes in the human dental primordium: an explanation for pigmented lesions of the jaws

W Lawson et al. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol. 1976 Sep.

Abstract

Melanocytes were observed within the dental lamina or tooth bud in three of eleven Caucasian and in all six Negro fetuses, 12 to 18 weeks of gestation, studied. The presence of these cells in the dental primordium points to a contribution by the neural crest to the formation of the tooth in mammals. The occurrence of melanocytes in the dental anlage may also explain the histogenesis of such pigmented lesions as the melanotic "progonoma," calcigying odontogenic cyst, and the pigmented odontogenic tumor of Richardson.

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