Dentin or dentine is a calcified tissue of the body and, along with enamel, cementum, and pulp, is one of the four major components of teeth. It is usually covered by enamel on the crown and cementum on the root and surrounds the entire pulp. By volume, 45% of dentin consists of the mineral hydroxyapatite, 33% is organic material, and 22% is water. Yellow in appearance, it greatly affects the color of a tooth due to the translucency of enamel. Dentin, which is less mineralized and less brittle than enamel, is necessary for the support of enamel. Dentin rates approximately 3 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. There are two main characteristics which distinguish dentin from enamel: firstly, dentin forms throughout life; secondly, dentin is sensitive and can become hypersensitive to changes in temperature due to the sensory function of odontoblasts, especially when enamel recedes and dentin channels become exposed.
Dental restoration, dental fillings, or simply fillings are treatments used to restore the function, integrity, and morphology of missing tooth structure resulting from caries or external trauma as well as to the replacement of such structure supported by dental implants. They are of two broad types—direct and indirect—and are further classified by location and size. A root canal filling, for example, is a restorative technique used to fill the space where the dental pulp normally resides.
Toothache, also known as dental pain or tooth pain, is pain in the teeth or their supporting structures, caused by dental diseases or pain referred to the teeth by non-dental diseases. When severe it may impact sleep, eating, and other daily activities.
Tooth whitening or tooth bleaching is the process of lightening the color of human teeth. Whitening is often desirable when teeth become yellowed over time for a number of reasons, and can be achieved by changing the intrinsic or extrinsic color of the tooth enamel. The chemical degradation of the chromogens within or on the tooth is termed as bleaching.
The pulp is the connective tissue, nerves, blood vessels, and odontoblasts that comprise the innermost layer of a tooth. The pulp's activity and signalling processes regulate its behaviour.
In dentistry, a crown or a dental cap is a type of dental restoration that completely caps or encircles a tooth or dental implant. A crown may be needed when a large dental cavity threatens the health of a tooth. Some dentists will also finish root canal treatment by covering the exposed tooth with a crown. A crown is typically bonded to the tooth by dental cement. They can be made from various materials, which are usually fabricated using indirect methods. Crowns are used to improve the strength or appearance of teeth and to halt deterioration. While beneficial to dental health, the procedure and materials can be costly.
The enamel organ, also known as the dental organ, is a cellular aggregation seen in a developing tooth and it lies above the dental papilla. The enamel organ which is differentiated from the primitive oral epithelium lining the stomodeum. The enamel organ is responsible for the formation of enamel, initiation of dentine formation, establishment of the shape of a tooth's crown, and establishment of the dentoenamel junction.
Dentinogenesis imperfecta (DI) is a genetic disorder of tooth development. It is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, as a result of mutations on chromosome 4q21, in the dentine sialophosphoprotein gene (DSPP). It is one of the most frequently occurring autosomal dominant features in humans. Dentinogenesis imperfecta affects an estimated 1 in 6,000-8,000 people.
A dental emergency is an issue involving the teeth and supporting tissues that are of high importance to be treated by the relevant professional. Dental emergencies do not always involve pain, although this is a common signal that something needs to be looked at. Pain can originate from the tooth, surrounding tissues or can have the sensation of originating in the teeth but be caused by an independent source. Depending on the type of pain experienced an experienced clinician can determine the likely cause and can treat the issue as each tissue type gives different messages in a dental emergency.
Dentin hypersensitivity is dental pain which is sharp in character and of short duration, arising from exposed dentin surfaces in response to stimuli, typically thermal, evaporative, tactile, osmotic, chemical or electrical; and which cannot be ascribed to any other dental disease.
Dens invaginatus (DI), also known as tooth within a tooth, is a rare dental malformation and a developmental anomaly where there is an infolding of enamel into dentin. The prevalence of this condition is 0.3 - 10%, affecting males more frequently than females. The condition presents in two forms, coronal involving tooth crown and radicular involving tooth root, with the former being more common.
Dentin dysplasia (DD) is a rare genetic developmental disorder affecting dentine production of the teeth, commonly exhibiting an autosomal dominant inheritance that causes malformation of the root. It affects both primary and permanent dentitions in approximately 1 in every 100,000 patients. It is characterized by the presence of normal enamel but atypical dentin with abnormal pulpal morphology. Witkop in 1972 classified DD into two types which are Type I (DD-1) is the radicular type, and type II (DD-2) is the coronal type. DD-1 has been further divided into 4 different subtypes (DD-1a,1b,1c,1d) based on the radiographic features.
Root canal treatment is a treatment sequence for the infected pulp of a tooth which is intended to result in the elimination of infection and the protection of the decontaminated tooth from future microbial invasion. Root canals, and their associated pulp chamber, are the physical hollows within a tooth that are naturally inhabited by nerve tissue, blood vessels and other cellular entities. Together, these items constitute the dental pulp.
Cracked tooth syndrome (CTS) is where a tooth has incompletely cracked but no part of the tooth has yet broken off. Sometimes it is described as a greenstick fracture. The symptoms are very variable, making it a notoriously difficult condition to diagnose.
Vertical root fractures are a type of fracture of a tooth. They can be characterized by an incomplete or complete fracture line that extends through the long axis of the root toward the apex. Vertical root fractures represent between 2 and 5 percent of crown/root fractures. The greatest incidence occurs in endodontically treated teeth, and in patients older than 40 years of age.
Pulp necrosis is a clinical diagnostic category indicating the death of cells and tissues in the pulp chamber of a tooth with or without bacterial invasion. It is often the result of many cases of dental trauma, caries and irreversible pulpitis.
Dental pulpal testing is a clinical and diagnostic aid used in dentistry to help establish the health of the dental pulp within the pulp chamber and root canals of a tooth. Such investigations are important in aiding dentists in devising a treatment plan for the tooth being tested.
Dental trauma refers to trauma (injury) to the teeth and/or periodontium, and nearby soft tissues such as the lips, tongue, etc. The study of dental trauma is called dental traumatology.
Enamel infractions are microcracks seen within the dental enamel of a tooth. They are commonly the result of dental trauma to the brittle enamel, which remains adherent to the underlying dentine. They can be seen more clearly when transillumination is used.
Root fracture of the tooth is a dentine cementum fracture involving the pulp.
