Pulp

1. Four zones—listed from dentin inward

a. Odontoblastic layer

(1) Contains the cell bodies of odontoblasts.

Note: their processes remain in dentinal tubules.

(2) Capillaries, nerve fibers, and dendritic cells may also be present.

b. Cell-free or cell-poor zone (zone of Weil)

(1) Contains capillaries and unmyelinated nerve fibers.

c. Cell-rich zone

(1) Consists mainly of fibroblasts. Macrophages, lymphocytes, and dendritic cells may also be present.

d. The pulp (pulp proper, central zone)

(1) The central mass of the pulp.

(2) Consists of loose connective tissue, larger vessels, and nerves. Also contains fibroblasts and pulpal cells.

2. Pulpal innervation

a. When pulpal nerves are stimulated, they can only transmit one signal pain.

b. There are no proprioceptors in the pulp.

c. Types of nerves:

(1) A-delta fibers

(a) Myelinated sensory nerve fibers.

(b) Stimulation results in the sensation of fast, sharp pain.

(c) Found in the coronal (odontoblastic) area of the pulp.

(2) C-fibers

(a) Unmyelinated sensory nerve fibers.

(b) Transmits information of noxious stimuli centrally.

(c) Stimulation results in pain that is slower, duller, and more diffuse in nature.

(d) Found in the central region of the pulp.

(3) Sympathetic fibers

(a) Found deeper within the pulp.

(b) Sympathetic stimulation results in vasoconstriction of vessels.

HISTOLOGY OF SALIVARY GLANDS

Parotid: so-called watery serous saliva rich in amylase
Submandibular gland: more mucinous
Sublingual: viscous saliva

Parotid Gland:  The parotid is a serous secreting gland.

There are also fat cells in the parotid.

Submandibular Gland

This gland is serous and mucous secreting.

There are serous demilunes

This gland is more serous than mucous

Also fat cells

Sublingual Gland

Serous and mucous secreting

Serous cells in the form of demilunes on the mucous acini.

more mucous than serous cells

Minor Salivary Glands

Minor salivary glands are not found within gingiva and anterior part of the hard palate
Serous minor glands=von Ebner below the sulci of the circumvallate and folliate papillae of the tongue; palatine, glossopalatine glands are pure mucus; some lingual glands are also pure mucus

Functions

Protection: lubricant (glycoprotein); barrier against noxious stimuli; microbial toxins and minor traumas; washing non-adherent and acellular debris; calcium-binding proteins: formation of salivary pellicle
Buffering: bacteria require specific pH conditions; plaque microorganisms produce acids from sugars; phosphate ions and bicarbonate
Digestion: neutralizes esophageal contents, dilutes gastric chyme; forms food bolus; brakes starch
Taste: permits recognition of noxious substances; protein gustin necessary for growth and maturation of taste buds
Antimicrobial: lysozyme hydrolyzes cell walls of some bacteria; lactoferrin binds free iron and deprives bacteria of this essential element; IgA agglutinates microorganisms
Maintenance of tooth integrity: calcium and phosphate ions; ionic exchange with tooth surface
Tissue repair: bleeding time of oral tissues shorter than other tissues; resulting clot less solid than normal; remineralization

Dental Formula, Dental Notation, Universal Numbering System

A. Dental Formula. The dental formula expresses the type and number of teeth per side

The Universal Numbering System. The rules are as follows:

1. Permanent teeth are designated by number, beginning with the last tooth on the upper right side, going on to the last tooth on the left side, then lower left to lower right

2. Deciduous teeth are designated by letter, beginning with the last tooth on the upper right side and proceeding in clockwise fashion

Deciduous dentition period.

-The deciduous teeth start to erupt at the age of six months and the deciduous dentition is complete by the age of approximately two and one half years of age.

-The jaws continue to increase in size at all points until about age one year.

-After this, growth of the arches is lengthening of the arches at their posterior (distal) ends. Also, there is slightly more forward growth of the mandible than the maxilla.

1. Many early developmental events take place.

-The tooth buds anticipate the ultimate occlusal pattern.

-Mandibular teeth tend to erupt first. The pattern for the deciduous incisors is usually in this distinctive order:

(1) mandibular central

(2) maxillary central incisors

(3) then all four lateral incisors.

-By one year, the deciduous molars begin to erupt.

-The eruption pattern for the deciduous dentition as a whole is:

(1) central incisor

(2) lateral incisor

(3) deciduous first molar

(4) then the canine

(5) then finally the second molar.

-Eruption times can be variable.

2. Occlusal changes in the deciduous dentition.

-The overjet tends to diminish with age. Wear and mandibular growth are a factor in this process.

-The overbite often diminishes with the teeth being worn to a flat plane occlusion.

-Spacing of the incisors in anticipation of the soon-to-erupt permanent incisors appears late. Permanent anterior teeth (incisors and canines) are wider mesiodistally than deciduous anterior teeth. In contrast, the deciduous molar are wider mesiodistally that the premolars that later replace them.

-Primate spaces occur in about 50% of children. They appear in the deciduous dentition. The spaces appear between the upper lateral incisor and the upper canine. They also appear between the lower canine and the deciduous first molar.

MANDIBULAR FIRST MOLAR

It is the first permanent tooth to erupt.

Facial Surface:- The lower first permanent molar has the widest mesiodistal diameter of all of the molar teeth. Three cusps cusps separated by developmental grooves make on the occlusal outline The mesiobuccal cusp is usually the widest of the cusps. The mesiobuccal cusp is generally considered the largest of the five cusps. The distal root is usually less curved than the mesial root.

Lingual: Three cusps make up the occlusal profile in this view: the mesiolingual, the distolingual, and the distal cusp which is somewhat lower in profile. The mesiobuccal cusp is usually the widest and highest of the three. A short lingual developmental groove separates the two lingual cusps

Proximal: The distinctive height of curvature seen in the cervical third of the buccal surface is called the cervical ridge. The mesial surface may be flat or concave in its cervical third . It is highly convex in its middle and occlusal thirds. The occlusal profile is marked by the mesiobuccal cusp, mesiolingual cusp, and the mesial marginal ridge that connects them. The mesial root is the broadest buccolingually of any of the lower molar roots. The distal surface of the crown is narrower buccolingually than the mesial surface. Three cusps are seen from the distal aspect: the distobuccal cusp, the distal cusp, and the distolingual cusp.

Occlusal There are five cusps. Of them, the mesiobuccal cusp is the largest, the distal cusp is the smallest. The two buccal grooves and the single lingual groove form the "Y" patern distinctive for this tooth

Roots :-The tooth has two roots, a mesial and a distal.

Contact Points; The mesial contact is centered buccolingually just below the marginal ridge. The distal contact is centered over the distal root, but is buccal to the center point of the distal marginal ridge.

Roots: Lower molars have mesial and distal roots. In the first, molar, the mesial root is the largest. It has a distal curvature. The distal root has little curvature and projects distally.

Dental Terminology.

Cusp: a point or peak on the occlusal surface of molar and premolar teeth and on the incisal edges of canines.

Contact: a point or area where one tooth is in contact (touching) another tooth

Cingulum: a bulge or elevation on the lingual surface of incisors or canines. It makes up the bulk of the cervical third of the lingual surface. Its convexity mesiodistally resembles a girdle  encircling the lingual surface at the cervical.

Fissure: A linear fault that sometimes occurs in a developmental groove by incomplete or imperfect joining of the lobes. A pit is usually found at the end of a developmental groove or a place where two fissures intersect.

Lobe: one of the primary centers of formation in the development of the crown of the tooth.

Mamelon: A lobe seen on anterior teeth; any one of three rounded protuberances seen on the unworn surfaces of freshly erupted anterior teeth.

Ridge: Any linear elevation on the surface of a tooth. It is named according to its location or form. Examples are buccal ridges, incisal ridges, marginal ridges, and so on.

Marginal ridges are those rounded borders of enamel which form the margins of the surfaces of premolars and molars, mesially and distally, and the mesial and distal margins of the incisors and canines lingually.

Triangular ridges are those ridges which descend from the tips of the cusps of molars and premolars toward the central part of the occlusal surface. Transverse ridges are created when a buccal and lingual triangular ridge join.

Oblique ridges are seen on maxillary molars and are a companion to the distal oblique groove.

Cervical ridges are the height of contour at the gingival, on certain deciduous and permanent teeth.

Fossa: An irregular, rounded depression or concavity found on the surface of a tooth. A lingual fossa is found on the lingual surface of incisors. A central fossa is found on the occlusal surface of a molar. They are formed by the converging of ridges terminating at a central point in the bottom of a depression where there is a junction of grooves

Pit: A small pinpoint depression located at the junction of developmental grooves or at the terminals of these groops. A central pit is found in the central fossa on the occlusal surfaces of molars where developmental grooves join. A pit is often the site of the onset of Dental  caries

Developmental groove: A sharply defined, narrow and linear depression formed during tooth development and usually separating lobes or major portions of a tooth.

A supplemental groove is also a shallow linear depression but it is usually less distinct and is more variable than a developmental groove and does not mark the junction of primary parts of a tooth.

Buccal and lingual grooves are developmental grooves found on the buccal and lingual surfaces of posterior teeth.

Tubercle: A small elevation produced by an extra formation of enamel. These occur on the marginal ridges of posterior teeth or on the cingulum of anterior teeth. These are deviations from the typical form.

Interproximal space: The triangular space between the adjacent teeth cervical to the contact point. The base of the triangle is the alveolar bone; the sides are the proximal surfaces of the adjacent teeth.

Sulcus:-An elongated valley or depression in the surface of a tooth formed by the inclines of adjacent cusp or ridges.

Embrasures: When two teeth in the same arch are in contact, their curvatures adjacent to the contact areas form spillway spaces called embrasures. There are three embrasures:

(1) Facial (buccal or labial)

(2) Occlusal or incisal

(3) Lingual

(NOTE: there are three embrasures; the fourth potential space is the interproximal space ).