LM evidence on the innervation of dentine and length of odontoblast processes
Early histological studies produced conflicting results. Mostly inconclusive due to
- technical difficulties with sectioning calcified tissues
- difficulties with fixing the avascular dentine
- lack of specific stains for nerves
- limited resolution of the light microscope
LM showed Tomes’ fibre (incorrectly assumed to be the odontoblast process) extending into outer dentine
This, coupled with the lack of conclusive evidence for nerves in dentine, raised the possibility that the odontoblast might be the receptor.