Enamel tufts

Enamel tufts are "small, branching defects that are found only at the dentinoenamel junction (DEJ), projecting into the enamel, and are of no clinical significance."^[1] They are frequently confused with enamel lamellae, which are also enamel defects, but which differ in two ways: lamella are linear, and not branched, and they exist primarily extending from the enamel surface, through the enamel and towards the DEJ, whereas tufts project in the opposite direction.

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Enamel tufts should also not be confused with the similar enamel spindles. Enamel spindles are also linear defects, similar to lamellae, but they too can be found only at the DEJ, similar to tufts. This is because they are formed by entrapment of odontoblast processes between ameloblasts prior to and during amelogenesis.

References

1. ^ Histology Course Notes: "Mature Enamel", New Jersey Dental School, 2003-2004, page 2.