Pediatric Dentistry · single question

Which cells are primarily responsible for creating the bony pathway through which a tooth erupts?

  1. Osteoclasts (resorbing bone ahead of the erupting tooth, coordinated by dental follicle signaling)
  2. Odontoclasts (primarily resorb primary tooth roots, not the bony eruption pathway)
  3. Ameloblasts
  4. Cementoblasts
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Correct answer: A. Osteoclasts (resorbing bone ahead of the erupting tooth, coordinated by dental follicle signaling)

Osteoclasts, recruited via dental follicle signaling, resorb alveolar bone to create the eruption pathway — a distinct process from primary tooth root resorption (mediated by odontoclasts), which facilitates exfoliation of the predecessor tooth.

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