Infundibular filling: Should we be recommending it?

Equine maxillary cheek teeth (Triadan 06–11 in the 100 and 200 arcades) each contain two crescent-shaped enamel infoldings (the infundibula), which extend for most of the crown length [1]. These infoldings are thought to have evolved to increase the surface area of occlusal surface enamel ridges for mastication and compensate for the more extensive infoldings of peripheral enamel of mandibular cheek teeth. During development of the infundibula, the enamel is laid down by ameloblasts, then cementum is later deposited on this enamel from the periphery of the infundibula, proceeding centrally [2,3]. Ideally, cementum should be deposited in the infundibulum until it is completely filled or only a narrow, central, cement-free channel (‘the vascular channel’) remains ...