来自#美国麻省总医院#的研究发现，Odontoblast即形成牙龈的牙本质细胞还有一个之前未知的功能：感受寒冷。这种寒冷感受可以引发牙齿疼痛。研究人员根据这一发现找到了阻断让牙齿因寒冷而敏感的方法。英文原文：http://t.cn/A6c2Qn8C

CAPTION
This artist's illustration depicts how, centuries ago, people believed that small worms living within the tooth caused excruciating pain via their cold breath. Proof of tooth worms came when an inflamed tooth was ripped out and small stringy structures--the nerves and blood vessels--were visible within the disintegrating pulp and dentin. The tooth worms are actually odontoblasts, cells that form the dentin layer of the tooth, which encases the soft tooth pulp. A new study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and elsewhere, published in Science Advances, demonstrated that the cold sensation in our teeth is mediated by the odontoblast (green structures) and transmitted to the brain via nerves (depicted in red), where pain is perceived.

CREDIT
Copyright Katharina Zimmermann, MD, PhD