Ultrastructural study of the effects of fixation and fluoride injection on stippled material during amelogenesis in the rat.

Perfusion with a variety of commonly-used fixatives was used. Quality of cell preservation and occurrence of stippled material between the mineralization front and the secretory ameloblasts were compared in normal animals and in ones injected with fluoride. There was no relationship between the formation of stippled material and the ultrastructural preservation of the cells. However, some types of fixatives were more likely than others to reveal the presence of stippled material in normal specimens. Most animals receiving fluoride showed substantial accumulations of stippled material, irrespective of the fixative used.