“…Tooth development begins with the initiation stage, which comprises a thickening of the epithelium (placode), followed by the bud stage with a condensation of the mesenchyme and epithelial invagination (Pispa and Thesleff, 2003, Jernvall and Thesleff, 2000). These morphogenetic events are controlled by well-known conserved pathways that are used reiteratively, but how these actions translate to different cellular behaviors is only beginning to be understood (Ahtiainen et al, 2014, Kuony and Michon, 2017, Biggs et al, 2018, Mogollón et al, 2021, Trela et al, 2021). Specialized relatively small groups of cells called signaling centers play an essential role regulating cell behaviors, doing so by secreting factors such as sonic hedgehog (Shh), and molecules belonging to the Wnt, Fgf, and Bmp families.…”