25 August 2025

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Dr. Joshua Emrick’s Team Sheds New Light on Protective Tooth Nerve Function in Cell Reports Study

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Joshua J. Emrick, DDS, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences & Prosthodontics (BMSP), shines a spotlight on the sensory neurons in teeth in a recent publication in the journal Cell Reports.

The study, “Intradental mechano-nociceptors serve as sentinels that prevent tooth damage,” discovered a fundamental function for tooth nerves: they activate a preventative reflex to reduce injury of teeth. The report expands our understanding of these nerves beyond their well-known ability to cause excruciating pain, underscoring the importance of healthy nerves in the dental pulp because they actively preserve teeth.

Emrick’s research team, led by postdoctoral fellow Dr. Elizabeth Ronan, looked at how nerve cells react to stimulation of the molar teeth of mice in real time and manipulated them to learn the consequence of their activation. Their experiments revealed highly-specialized sensory neurons (intradental High-Threshold MechanoReceptors) monitor from the inside of the tooth and respond to its external damage, then relay the message rapidly to the brain for almost instantaneous, automatic action. 

The research team included co-authors Drs. Tomer Stern and Peng Li (both assistant professors in BMSP) in addition to members of their labs and other collaborators within the U-M research community (Drs. Bing Ye and Kevin Pipe).

Source: https://dent.umich.edu/