Development of rotation of mandibular premolar tooth germs in the dog

The development of premolar tooth germs in dogs, particularly their rotation and crowding, was examined on radiographs, dissected specimens of tooth germs, serial sections stained by Masson-Goldner's technique and reconstructed models. The materials used were the mandibles of 32 puppies from birth to 6 months, and the species was a highly pedigreed Shiba Inu which has no crowding of the premolars in the mature stage. The results obtained are as follows. (1) Rotations and crowdings of premolars, similar to those in brachygnathus dogs and wolves raised in captivity, were observed during ontogenesis of dolichocephalic dogs, whose adult state exhibits no crowding of teeth. (2) The type of rotation was B (the mesial portion is rotated buccally) for the second and third premolars and L (the mesial portion lingually) for the fourth premolar. (3) The rotations of the premolars did not coincide with those of their deciduous predecessors. (4) These rotations appeared in the bud and cap stages of premolars, before the formation of roots of deciduous molars. The premolars developed crowding at 5 months when they increased in dimension.