title: Influence of occlusal stimuli on the microvasculature in rat dental pulp.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the influence of occlusal stimuli on the vasculature in the dental pulp, using an occlusal hypofunction model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty 7-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups. To produce occlusal hypofunction, the appliances were attached to the maxillary and mandibular incisors. Untreated rats served as controls. Serial horizontal paraffin sections of the mandibular first molar were processed by conventional methods. To evaluate the microvasculature in the dental pulp, sections of each specimen were stained with hematoxylin-eosin.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the experimental group, the arterioles in the tooth pulp tissue ran convergently, and their inside diameter was significantly smaller than that of the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that occlusal stimuli influence the periodontal ligament throughout the microvasculature of the dental pulp.
authors.affiliation: Orthodontic Science, Department of Orofacial Development and Function, Division of Oral Health Science, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. n.shibutani.orts@tmd.ac.jp
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shibutani
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hosomichi
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.forename: Kunimichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Soma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001732:Bite Force; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000098:blood supply*; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis; D008297:Male; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055806:Microvessels / Q000502:physiology*; D024343:Open Bite / Q000503:physiopathology; D010513:Periodontal Ligament / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric