Respiratory Variations Within the Normal Dental Pulp

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Abstract
Oxygen consumption rates for basal, middle and incisal thirds of rat incisor pulps show successively lower levels in progressing from the basal to the incisal end. The O2 quotients for peripheral and central portions of dentinogenically active and quiescent bovine molar pulps show higher values in the peripheral portions especially in the dentinogenically active organs. The higher levels of respiration are related to dentinogenesis. Measurements of pulpal respiration over successive 10-min. intervals reveal noticeable variation of rates and occasional brief periods of suspension of O2 consumption. Prominence of primitive anaerobic metabolic pathways and inherent partially deficient aerobic metabolism is a possible cause of this behavior. The QO2 values of dental pulp are influenced by dentinogenic status, the region of the pulp from which samples are obtained and the length of the period of measurement.