Embryonic and postnatal macrophages are necessary for proper tooth development and homeostasis

The role of macrophages in teeth, beyond their function in innate immunity, remains unexplored. This study demonstrates that macrophages populate dental tissues during early development and increase in number during pre-eruptive stages postnatally. In continuously growing teeth, they are associated with epithelial and mesenchymal stem cell niches throughout lifetime. To investigate their role in development, we genetically disrupt macrophage migration using neural-crest specific...