The morphology and the area density of Sharpey fibers in the socket of the rat incisor under normo-, hyper-, and hypofunctional conditions were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy. Sharpey fibers appeared either as dome-shaped projections, when highly mineralized, or as depressions when less mineralized. Near the alveolar crest, most of the fibers were fully mineralized and arranged in compact longitudinal rows. Toward the basal end of the socket, the rows became interrupted, forming islets of gradually smaller size and number. The density of the Sharpey fibers was higher (P Ͻ 0.01) in the mesial and distal faces than in the lingual face in most of the socket length. In normofunctional conditions, in all faces the density decreased 70 to 90 times from the crestal toward the basal region of the socket (P Ͻ 0.01). The degree of mineralization of the Sharpey fibers also decreased steadily in the same direction, indicating that, for support, the periodontal ligament matures from basal to incisal and is fully developed only in the crestal region. In hyper-and hypofunctional conditions, the same distribution was observed. The area density of the Sharpey fibers in the hyperfunctional condition showed a slight increase at the basal levels of the socket mesial and distal faces (P Ͻ 0.01 or P Ͻ 0.05). In hypofunctional incisors, the density decreased significantly (P Ͻ 0.01) at the mesial and distal faces in all regions of the socket, and at the lingual face, the decrease (P Ͻ 0.05) was restricted to the incisal regions. This may be one of the factors for the weakening of the periodontal ligament in hypofunctional incisors.

Rodent incisors are useful models to study the development and behavior of dental and periodontal tissues. Some studies require three-dimensional reconstructions of the tooth but none of the described methods yield actual volumetric data. Unlike the rat lower incisors the hemimandible can be easily isolated and its volume was determined by Cavalieri's geometrical principle. This method associated with point-counting volumetry was used to calculate the volume of the structures found in that bone mainly those related to the lower incisor. For 172 g male rats the mean volume of the hemimandible was 182.7 mm 3 , statistically not different from 184.9 mm 3 the mean volume of the same hemimandibles determined by Archimedes' principle. The coefficients of error (CE) of Cavalieri's estimates for the hemimandible, incisor as a whole (the tooth itself, odontogenic region and periodontium) and bone tissue were less than 0.04. For the incisor individual tissues the CEs were usually above 0.05, however their calculated volumes are probably not different from the actual ones. The data for incisors and their periodontal tissues and for bone, because of continuous growth of these structures, are meaningful only for rats of the same gender, strain and weight range. Anat