Human tooth development focused on determining the processes that initiate tooth development. It is widely accepted that there is a factor within the tissues of the first pharyngeal arch that is necessary for the development of teeth. The tooth germ is an aggregation of cells that eventually forms a tooth. These cells are derived from the ectoderm of the first pharyngeal arch and the ectomesenchyme of the neural crest. The tooth germ is organized into three parts: the enamel organ, the dental papilla and the dental sac or follicle. The "enamel organ " is composed of the outer enamel epithelium, inner enamel epithelium,
Tooth decay includes dental fluorosis and developmental defects of the tooth including hypomineralization of the tooth and hypoplasia of the tooth. The early carious lesion is characterized by demineralization of the tooth surface, altering the tooth's optical properties. Technology utilizing laser speckle image (LSI) techniques may provide a diagnostic aid to detect early carious lesions. Caries can be classified by location, etiology, rate of progression, and affected hard tissues. These forms of classification can be used to characterize a particular case of tooth decay in order to more accurately represent the condition to others and also indicate the severity of tooth destruction.