Professional Documents
Culture Documents
of
Dental Anatomy ,
Histology , Physiology ,
and Occlusion
Pulp-Dentin Complex
Dentin and pulp tissues are specialized
connective tissues of mesodermal origin,
formed from the dental papilla of the
tooth bud. These two tissues are
considered by many investigators as a
single tissue, which thus form the pulpdentin complex, with mineralized dentin
comprising the mature end product of cell
differentiation and maturation. Dentin is
formed by cells called odontoblasts.
DENTAL PULP
The dental pulp occupies the pulp cavity in the tooth.
Each pulp organ is circumscribed by the dentin and is
lined peripherally by a cellular layer of odontoblasts
adjacent to the dentin.
The dental pulp is composed of myelinated and
unmyelinated nerves, arteries, veins, lymph channels,
connective tissue cells, intercellular substance,
odontoblasts, fibroblasts, macrophages, collagen, and
fine fibers. The central area of the pulp contains the
large blood vessels and nerve trunks. The pulp is
circumscribed peripherally by a specialized
odontogenic area made up of the odontoblasts, the
cell-free zone, and the cell-rich zone
Cementum
Cementum is the hard dental tissue covering
the anatomic roots of teeth and is formed by
cells known as cementoblasts, which develop
from undifferentiated mesenchymal cells in
the connective tissue of the dental follicle.
Cementum is slightly softer than dentin
Sharpey's fibers are the portions of the
collagenous principal fibers of the periodontal
ligament embedded in both the cementum and
alveolar bone to attach the tooth to the
alveolus
Cementum is avascular.
The cementum is light yellow and slightly
lighter in color than dentin. It has the
highest fluoride content of all mineralized
tissue. Cementum is also permeable to a
variety of materials. It is formed
continuously throughout life, because a
new layer of cementum is deposited to
keep the attachment intact as the
superficial layer of cementum ages.
PHYSIOLOGY OF TOOTH
FORM
The teeth serve four main
functions:
mastication,
esthetics,
speech, and
protection of supporting tissues.
Contours
The facial and lingual surfaces possess
some degree of convexity that affords
protection and stimulation of the
supporting tissues during mastication.
This convexity generally is located at
the cervical third of the crown on the
facial surfaces of all teeth and the
lingual surfaces of the incisors and
canines.
Embrasures
Embrasures are V-shaped spaces that
originate at the proximal contact areas
between adjacent teeth and are named
for the direction toward which they
radiate. These embrasures are:
facial,
lingual,
incisal or occlusal,
gingival
PERIODONTIUM
The periodontium consists of the oral hard
and soft tissues that invest and support the
teeth.
It can be divided into:
the gingival unit, consisting of free and
attached gingiva and the alveolar mucosa,
and
the attachment apparatus, consisting of
the cementum, periodontal ligament, and
alveolar process.
OCCLUSION
Occlusion literally means "closing"; in
dentistry,
Occlusion means the contact of teeth
in opposing dental arches when the
jaws are closed (static occlusal
relationships) and during various jaw
movements (dynamic occlusal
relationships).