On the relationship between tetracycline and the incremental lines in dentine.

Ground and decalcified sections of human, goat and pig teeth were examined using polarized and ultraviolet fluorescence microscopy, microradiography and electron microscopy. The experimental animals were given doses of tetracycline within the range 3-150 mg/kg. After the low doses there was no evidence of any disturbance of mineralization or of structural organization in either the goat or the pig. After the higher doses, however, the tetracycline lines usually corresponded with a disturbance of structural organization and often with a disturbance of mineralization as well. In the human cases, the tetracycline lines sometimes corresponded with a disturbance of mineralization or of structural organization. However, our evidence suggests that the disturbances in the structure or mineralization of the dentine in the human subjects were not caused by the tetracycline. It was concluded that, provided the dose is kept low (3-31 mg/kg) tetracycline can be used as a reliable non-toxic marker in growth studies and is also used in the study of mineral deposition.