Wyss Fabia, Müller Jacqueline, Clauss Marcus, Kircher Patrick, Geyer Hans, von Rechenberg Brigitte, Hatt Jean-Michel
J Vet Dent. 2016 Mar;33(1):39-46. doi: 10.1177/0898756416640956.
Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and rodents possess continuously growing teeth, and dental problems are a major health issue in these species. Knowledge of tooth growth characteristics is required to adequately treat dental problems and advise owners concerning diets. Most research was performed using bur marks and measuring eruption and wear manually. However, this method cannot be applied to teeth less rostral than the first premolar; therefore, for evaluation of molars, other methods are needed. We evaluated the use of fluorochromes xylenol orange and calcein green to measure growth rates of rabbit teeth and compared this method to results obtained by manually measuring the distance between a bur mark and the gingival margin of the same tooth (eruption) and by measuring the distance between the bur mark and the apex of the same tooth on computed tomography scans (growth). Apical fluorochrome measurements correlated well with eruption and growth rates obtained with bur marks, whereas measurements coronal to the pulp cavity did not. Growth rates were approximately 1.9 mm/wk for maxillary and 2.2 mm/wk for mandibular incisors. Growth rates of premolars were 2.14 ± 0.28 mm/wk in rabbits on a grass/rice hulls/sand pelleted diet and 0.93 ± 0.18 mm/wk in rabbits on a hay diet. Growth of molars could only be assessed using the measurement in dentin on the wall of the pulp cavity, which does not account for the real growth. However, being similar to this measurement in premolars, one could hypothesize similar growth in molars as in premolars. We conclude that the application of fluorochrome staining can be used to measure tooth growth in teeth that are not accessible for bur marks or in animals that are too small to assess tooth eruption or growth by bur marks.
兔子（穴兔）和啮齿动物的牙齿会持续生长，牙齿问题是这些物种的一个主要健康问题。为了充分治疗牙齿问题并就饮食向主人提供建议，需要了解牙齿生长特征。大多数研究是通过牙钻标记并手动测量萌出和磨损情况来进行的。然而，这种方法不适用于比第一前磨牙更靠前的牙齿；因此，对于磨牙的评估，需要其他方法。我们评估了使用荧光染料二甲酚橙和钙黄绿素测量兔牙生长速率，并将该方法与通过手动测量同一颗牙齿的牙钻标记与牙龈边缘之间的距离（萌出）以及在计算机断层扫描上测量同一颗牙齿的牙钻标记与根尖之间的距离（生长）所获得的结果进行比较。根尖荧光染料测量结果与通过牙钻标记获得的萌出和生长速率相关性良好，而牙髓腔冠状方向的测量结果则不然。上颌切牙的生长速率约为每周1.9毫米，下颌切牙为每周2.2毫米。在以草/稻壳/沙子颗粒饲料喂养的兔子中，前磨牙的生长速率为每周2.14±0.28毫米，在以干草为食的兔子中为每周0.93±0.18毫米。磨牙的生长只能通过测量牙髓腔壁牙本质中的情况来评估，这并不能反映实际生长情况。然而，与前磨牙的这种测量情况类似，可以推测磨牙的生长与前磨牙相似。我们得出结论，荧光染料染色可用于测量无法进行牙钻标记的牙齿的生长，或用于太小而无法通过牙钻标记评估牙齿萌出或生长的动物的牙齿生长。
