An improved understanding of the molecular pathways that drive tooth morphogenesis and enamel secretion is needed to generate teeth from organ cultures for therapeutic implantation or to determine the pathogenesis of primary disorders of dentition (Abdollah, S., Macias-Silva, M., Tsukazaki, T., Hayashi, H., Attisano, L., and Wrana, J. L. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 27678-27685). Here we present a novel ectodermal dysplasia phenotype associated with conditional deletion of p38alpha MAPK in ectodermal appendages using K14-cre mice (p38alpha(K14) mice). These mice display impaired patterning of dental cusps and a profound defect in the production and biomechanical strength of dental enamel because of defects in ameloblast differentiation and activity. In the absence of p38alpha, expression of amelogenin and beta4-integrin in ameloblasts and p21 in the enamel knot was significantly reduced. Mice lacking the MAP2K MKK6, but not mice lacking MAP2K MKK3, also show the enamel defects, implying that MKK6 functions as an upstream kinase of p38alpha in ectodermal appendages. Lastly, stimulation with BMP2/7 in both explant culture and an ameloblast cell line confirm that p38alpha functions downstream of BMPs in this context. Thus, BMP-induced activation of the p38alpha MAPK pathway is critical for the morphogenesis of tooth cusps and the secretion of dental enamel.