Dental pertains to the teeth, including dentistry. Topics related to the dentistry, the human mouth and teeth include:
Abfraction • Abrasion • Academy of General Dentistry • Acinic cell carcinoma • Acrodont • Adalbert J. Volck • Adenomatoid odontogenic tumor • Adhesive Dentistry • Aetna • Agar • Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans • Aim toothpaste • Akers' clasp • Alberta Dental Association and College • Alfred Fones • Alfred P. Southwick • Alginic acid • Alice Timander • Allan G. Brodie • Alveolar bony defects • Alveolar osteitis • Alveolar process of maxilla • Alveolar ridge • Amalgam • Ameloblast • Ameloblastic fibroma • Ameloblastin • Ameloblastoma • Amelogenesis • Amelogenesis imperfecta • Amelogenin • American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry • American Academy of Periodontology • American Association of Endodontists • American Association of Orthodontists • American Dental Association • American Dental Education Association • American Dental Hygienists' Association • American Society of Dental Surgeons • American Student Dental Association • Amosan • Anbesol • Angular cheilitis • Anodontia • Anthony Hamilton-Smith, 3rd Baron Colwyn • Antoni Cieszyński • Apert syndrome • Apex locator • Aphthous ulcer • Applied kinesiology • Aquafresh • Archwire • Arizona Dental Association • Arm & Hammer • Armin Abron • Articaine • Articulator • Attrition • Australian Dental Association • Automatic toothpaste dispenser
Badri Teymourtash • Baltimore College of Dental Surgery • Barbed broach • Barry Cockcroft • Barodontalgia • Bartholomew Ruspini • Baylor College of Dentistry • Ben Harper • Ben Humble • Ben L. Salomon • Benign lymphoepithelial lesion • Bernard J. Cigrand • Bernard Nadler • Bessie Delany • Bill Allen • Bill Emmerson • Bill Osmanski • Billy Cannon • Bioactive glass • Biodontics • Black hairy tongue • Bleeding on probing • Botryoid odontogenic cyst • Brachydont • Brachygnathism • Breath spray • Bridge • Bristol-Myers Squibb • British Dental Association • British Dental Health Foundation • British Dental Students' Association • British Orthodontic Society • British Society of Oral Implantology • Bruxism • Buccal bifurcation cyst • Buccal mucosa • Buccal space
CAD/CAM Dentistry • Calcifying epithelial odontogenic tumor • Calcifying odontogenic cyst • Calcium hydroxide • Calculus • California Dental Association • Canadian Association of Orthodontists • Canadian College of Dental Health • Canadian Dental Association • Canalicular adenoma • Canine tooth • Cantilever mechanics • Carbon dioxide laser • Caries vaccine • Carnassial • Case School of Dental Medicine • Cattle age determination • Cemento-osseous dysplasia • Cementoblast • Cementoblastoma • Cementoenamel junction • Cementogenesis • Cementum • Central giant cell granuloma • Central odontogenic fibroma • Central ossifying fibroma • Central Regional Dental Testing Service • Centric relation • Centro Escolar University • CEREC • Cervical loop • Chapin A. Harris • Chapped lips • Charles G. Maurice • Charles Goodall Lee • Charles H. Strub • Charles Murray Turpin • Charles Spence Bate • Charles Stent • Charlie Norwood • Cheilitis • Chewable toothbrush • Chewiness • Chief Dental Officer • Chlorhexidine • Christian Medical and Dental Fellowship of Australia • Christian Medical and Dental Society • Church and Dwight • Cingulum • Cleft lip and palate • Colgate-Palmolive • Colgate • Commonly used terms of relationship and comparison in dentistry • Concrescence • Condensing osteitis • Configuration factor • Congenital epulis • Consultant Orthodontists Group • Cosmetic dentistry • Crest • Crossbite • Crouzon syndrome • Crown-to-root ratio • Crown • Crown • Crown lengthening • Crunchiness • Curve of spee • Cusp • Cusp of Carabelli
Dappen glass • Dan Crane • Darlie • David J. Acer • Deciduous • Deciduous teeth • Delta Dental • Dens evaginatus • Dens invaginatus • Dental-enamel junction • Dental Admission Test • Dental alveolus • Dental amalgam controversy • Dental anatomy • Dental antibiotic prophylaxis • Dental anesthesia • Dental arches • Dental assistant • Dental avulsion • Dental auxiliary • Dental barotrauma • Dental braces • Dental bur • Dental canaliculi • Dental care in adolescent Australians • Dental care of Guantanamo Bay detainees • Dental caries • Dental college • Dental composite • Dental Council of India • Dental cyst • Dental dam • Dental disease • Dental drill • Dental emergency • Dental engine • Dental floss • Dental fluorosis • Dental follicle • Dental hygienist • Dental implant • Dental informatics • Dental instruments • Dental key • Dental Laboratories Association • Dental laboratory • Dental lamina • Dental laser • Dental midline • Dental notation • Dental papilla • Dental pathology • Dental pellicle • Dental phobia • Dental plaque • Dental porcelain • Dental Practitioners' Association • Dental public health • Dental pulp stem cells • Dental radiography • Dental restoration • Dental restorative materials • Dental sealant • Dental spa • Dental subluxation • Dental surgery • Dental syringe • Dental technician • Dental Technologists Association • Dental therapist • Dental trauma • DenTek Oral Care • Dentifrice • Dentigerous Cyst • Dentin • Dentin dysplasia • Dentine bonding agents • Dentine hypersensitivity • Dentinogenesis • Dentinogenesis imperfecta • Dentistry • Dentistry Magazine • Dentistry throughout the world • Dentition • Dentition analysis • Dentrix • Dentures • Denturist • Desquamative gingivitis • Diane Legault • Diastema • Dilaceration • Doc Holliday • Don McLeroy • Donald Leake • Dr. Alban • Dr. Radley Tate • Dr. Tariq Faraj
E. Lloyd Du Brul • Eagle syndrome • Early childhood caries • Eastman Kodak • Ed Lafitte • Eco-friendly dentistry • Edentulism • Edward Angle • Edward Hudson (dentist) • Edward Maynard • Egg tooth • Electric toothbrush • Elmex • Elsie Gerlach • Embrasure • Enamel cord • Enamel knot • Enamel lamellae • Enamel niche • Enamel organ • Enamel pearl • Enamel rod • Enamel spindles • Enamel tufts • Enamelin • Endodontic therapy • Endodontics • Epulis fissuratum • Er:YAG laser • Erosion • Eruption cyst • Erythroplakia • Euthymol • Ewald Fabian • Explorer • External resorption • Extraction
F. labii inferioris • Faculty of Dental Surgery • Faculty of General Dental Practice • False tooth • Fatima Jinnah Dental College • FDI World Dental Federation • FDI World Dental Federation notation • FDSRCS England • Fiberotomy • Filiform papilla • Fissured tongue • Fixed prosthodontics • Florida Dental Association • Fluoride therapy • Focal infection • Foliate papillae • Forensic dentistry • Frank Abbott (dentist) • Frank Crowther • Frederick B. Moorehead • Frederick Bogue Noyes • Frederick J. Conboy • Free gingival margin • Frenulum linguae • Frey's syndrome • Fungiform papilla
G. Walter Dittmar • Gardner's syndrome • Gargling • Gaspard Fauteux • Gene Derricotte • General Dental Council • General Practice Residency • Geographic tongue • Georg Carabelli • George S. Long • Gerald Cardinale • Geriatric dentistry • Gerrit Wolsink • Giant cell fibroma • Gigantiform cementoma • Gingiva • Gingival and periodontal pockets • Gingival cyst of the adult • Gingival cyst of the newborn • Gingival enlargement • Gingival fibers • Gingival sulcus • Gingivectomy • Gingivitis • Giovanni Battista Orsenigo • Glandular odontogenic cyst • Glasgow Dental Hospital and School • Glass ionomer cement • GlaxoSmithKline • Gleem toothpaste • Glennon Engleman • Globulomaxillary cyst • Glossitis • Gnarled enamel • Gnathology • Gold teeth • Goldman School of Dental Medicine • Gomphosis • Göran Lindblad • Government Dental College, Bangalore • Granular cell tumor • Greene Vardiman Black • Gum graft • Gunadasa Amarasekara • Gustatory system
Halimeter • Halitosis • Hammaspeikko • Hard palate • Harold Albrecht • Harvard School of Dental Medicine • Head and neck anatomy • Head and neck cancer • Healing of periapical lesions • Henry D. Cogswell • Henry Schein • Henry Trendley Dean • Hertwig's epithelial root sheath • Heterodont • Hexetidine • History of dental treatments • Horace H. Hayden • Horace Wells • Horse teeth • Human tooth development • Hydrodynamic theory (dentistry) • Hyperdontia • Hypocone • Hypodontia • Hypoglossia • Hypsodont
I.P. Dental College • Ian Gainsford • Idiopathic osteosclerosis • Implantology • Implant-supported bridge • Impression • Incisor • Inferior alveolar nerve • Inflammatory papillary hyperplasia • Ingestion • Inlays and onlays • Inner enamel epithelium • Interdental brush • Interdental papilla • Interdental plate • Internal resorption • International Association for Dental Research • Interrod enamel • Invisalign • Ipana • Isaac Schour
Jack Miller • James Garretson • James W. Holley, III • Jan Boubli • Jim Harrell, Jr. • Jim Lonborg • John Haase • John Smith • Johnson & Johnson • Jon Sudbø • Journal of Periodontology • Journal of the American Dental Association • Julius Franks • Junaid Ismail Dockrat • Junctional epithelium
Laser diode • Laser scalpel • Lateral periodontal cyst • Lentulo spiral • Lester C. Hunt • Leukoedema • Leukoplakia • Licentiate in Dental Surgery • Lichen planus • Lie bumps • Ligature • Linea alba • Lingual tonsils • Lion • Lip • Lip frenulum piercing • Lip piercing • Lip Reconstruction • List of dental organizations • List of dental schools in Australia • List of dental schools in the United States • List of dentists • List of toothpaste brands • Listerine • Louis Pendleton • Loupe • Low intensity pulsed ultrasound • Lucy Hobbs Taylor • Luting agent
Macrodontia • Malocclusion • Mammelon • Mandibular advancement splint • Mandibular canine • Mandibular central incisor • Mandibular first molar • Mandibular first premolar • Mandibular lateral incisor • Mandibular second molar • Mandibular second premolar • Mandibular third molar • Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal • Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Mangalore • Marian Spore Bush • Markus Merk • Martin van Butchell • Mastication • Maury Massler • Maxilla • Maxillary canine • Maxillary central incisor • Maxillary first molar • Maxillary first premolar • Maxillary lateral incisor • Maxillary second molar • Maxillary second premolar • Maxillary third molar • Maximum intercuspation • Median alveolar cyst • Median palatal cyst • Melbourne Faculty of Dentistry • Mentadent • Metacone • Metastatic tumor of jaws • Meth mouth • MFDS • Michael Krop • Micro Surgical Endodontics • Microdontia • Mike Simpson • Miles Dewey Davis, Jr. • Minimal intervention dentistry • Miswak • Molar • Morinosuke Chiwaki • Mouth • Mouth assessment • Mouth breathing • Mouth disease • Mouth mirror • Mouth prop • Mouthguard • Mouthwash • Mucocele • Mucoepidermoid carcinoma • Mucogingival junction • Mucosal lichen planus • Mucous membrane pemphigoid • Mucous retention cyst • MUDH • Mumps • Mutually protected occlusion
Nasolabial cyst • Nasopalatine cyst • National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research • NBDE • Nd:YAG laser • Neonatal line • Neonatal teeth • Nevus • New York State Dental Association • New York University College of Dentistry • Nicotine stomatitis • Nikolsky's sign • Nobel Biocare • Norman Simmons • Northeast Regional Board of Dental Examiners • Northern Indian Medical & Dental Association of Canada • Northwestern University Dental School
Obligate nasal breathing • Occlusal splint • Occlusal trauma • Occlusion • Odontoblast • Odontoblast process • Odontode • Odontogenic keratocyst • Odontogenic myxoma • Odontogenic cyst • Odontoma • Ohaguro • Ohio College of Dental Surgery • Ohio Dental Association • Oil of cloves • Oil pulling • Olaflur • Omega Pharma • Ontario Dental Association • Open Dental • Orabase B • Oral-B • Oral candidiasis • Oral and maxillofacial radiology • Oral and maxillofacial surgery • Oral cancer • Oral hygiene • Oral care swab • Oral irrigator • Oral medicine • Oral microbiology • Oral mucosa • Oral pathology • Oral Surgery • Oral torus • Oral ulcer • Orofacial granulomatosis • Orson Hodge • Orthodontic Facemask & Reverse-Pull Headgear • Orthodontic headgear • Orthodontic spacer • Orthodontic Technicians Association • Orthodontic technology • Orthodontics • Orthopantomogram • Orville Howard Phillips • Oscar Willing • Osseointegrated implant • Osteonecrosis of the jaw • Osteoporotic bone marrow defect • Our Lady of Fatima University • Outer enamel epithelium
Painless Parker • Pakistan Medical and Dental Council • Palatal expander • Palate • Palatine uvula • Palmer notation • Parafunctional habit • Parotid gland • Patterson Dental • Paul Beresford • Paul N. Cyr • Pedodontics • Pemphigus • Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry • Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery • Pepsodent • Periapical abscess • Periapical cyst • Pericoronitis • Perikyma • Periodontal curette • Periodontal ligament • Periodontal probe • Periodontal scaler • Periodontitis • Periodontitis as a manifestation of systemic disease • Periodontium • Periodontology • Peripheral giant-cell granuloma • Peripheral odontogenic fibroma • Peripheral ossifying fibroma • Permanent teeth • Peter Kunter • Peutz–Jeghers syndrome • Piercing • Phil Samis • Philip A. Traynor • Philip Blaiberg • Philtrum • Pierre Corbeil • Pierre Fauchard • Pink tooth of Mummery • Pleomorphic adenoma • Pleurodont • Plica fimbriata • Polk E. Akers • Polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma • Polynoxylin • Polyvinyl siloxane • Post-canine megadontia • Post and core • Posterior tongue • Potassium alginate • Premolar • Preparation • Primordial cyst • Procaine • Procter & Gamble • Prognathism • Prosthodontics • Protocone • Pulp • Pulp polyp • Pyogenic granuloma
Rabab Fetieh • Radial composite deviation • Radioactive dentin abrasion • Ragas Dental College • Raman Bedi • Randy Starr • Ranula • Receding gums • Reduced enamel epithelium • Regenerative endodontics • Regional odontodysplasia • Removable partial denture • Retainer • Retromolar space • Riggs' disease • Robert Blake • Roberto Calderoli • Rod sheath • Rodrigues Ottolengui • Roger Bailey • Root canal • Root End Surgery • Root resorption • Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons • Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario • Royal College of Dentists • Royal College of Surgeons of England
Saint Apollonia • Salivary gland • Samir Ghawshah • Samuel Bemis • Samuel Cartwright • Scaling and root planing • Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry • Scope • Secondary palate • Segmental odontomaxillary dysplasia • Sheila Faith • Shovel-shaped incisors • Sialogram • Signal • Simon Hullihen • Sinodonty and Sundadonty • Sinus-lift procedure • Smiley's Good Teeth Puppet Theatre • Socket preservation • Sodium alginate • Soft palate • SoftDent • SOHP • Sonicare • Southern Regional Testing Agency • Sozodont • Speech organ • Squamous odontogenic tumor • Stafne defect • Stan Brown • Stanley D. Tylman • Stanley McInnis • Stannous fluoride • Stellate reticulum • Sten Forshufvud • Steve Green • Stippling • Stomatol • Stomatology • Stratum intermedium • Straumann • Striae of Retzius • Sublingual gland • Submandibular gland • Sulcular epithelium • :Superior alveolar artery • Superior mouth • Supernumerary roots • Swedish Dental Association • Sydney Faculty of Dentistry
Talon cusp • Taste • Taste bud • Taurodontism • Teeth cleaning • Teething • Teledentistry • Temporary crown • Temporary restoration • Temporomandibular joint • Temporomandibular joint disorder • Thaddeus Weclew • Thomas Berdmore • Thomas Bramwell Welch • Tim Whatley • Tom's of Maine • Tom Slade • Tomes' process • Tongue • Tongue cleaner • Tongue diseases • Tongue piercing • Tongue scraper • Tongue thrust • Tonsillolith • Tooth • Tooth-friendly • Tooth abscess • Tooth bleaching • Tooth brushing • :Tooth development • Tooth enamel • Tooth eruption • Tooth fusion • Tooth gemination • Tooth loss • Tooth painting • Tooth polishing • Tooth regeneration • Tooth squeeze • Tooth Tunes • Toothache • Toothbrush • Toothpaste • Toothpick • Torus mandibularis • Torus palatinus • Traumatic bone cyst • Traumatic neuroma • Treatment of knocked-out (avulsed) teeth • Trench mouth • Treponema denticola • Trigeminal ganglion • Trismus • Tuftelin • Tufts University School of Dental Medicine • Turner's hypoplasia • Twin bloc • Typodont
UCLA School of Dentistry • Ultra Brite • Unilever • Universal numbering system • University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry • University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine • University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine • University of Tennessee College of Dentistry • University of the East College of Dentistry • University of Toronto Faculty of Dentistry
Veneer • Vermillion border • Vertical dimension of occlusion • Vestibular lamina
Walter Koskiusko Waldowski • Warthin's tumor • Water fluoridation • Water fluoridation controversy • Western Regional Examining Board • Weston Price • White sponge nevus • Whitening strips • Wilbur Wonka • William Donald Kelley • William Duff • William Gibson • William Samuel Hall • William T.G. Morton • Wisdom teeth
Human teeth function to mechanically break down items of food by cutting and crushing them in preparation for swallowing and digesting. As such, they are considered part of the human digestive system. Humans have four types of teeth: incisors, canines, premolars, and molars, which each have a specific function. The incisors cut the food, the canines tear the food and the molars and premolars crush the food. The roots of teeth are embedded in the maxilla or the mandible and are covered by gums. Teeth are made of multiple tissues of varying density and hardness.
The third molar, commonly called wisdom tooth, is the most posterior of the three molars in each quadrant of the human dentition. The age at which wisdom teeth come through (erupt) is variable, but this generally occurs between late teens and early twenties. Most adults have four wisdom teeth, one in each of the four quadrants, but it is possible to have none, fewer, or more, in which case the extras are called supernumerary teeth. Wisdom teeth may become stuck (impacted) and not erupt fully, if there is not enough space for them to come through normally. Impacted wisdom teeth are still sometimes removed for orthodontic treatment, believing that they move the other teeth and cause crowding, though this is no longer held as true.
Toothaches, 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.
Hypodontia is defined as the developmental absence of one or more teeth excluding the third molars. It is one of the most common dental anomalies, and can have a negative impact on function, and also appearance. It rarely occurs in primary teeth and the most commonly affected are the adult second premolars and the upper lateral incisors. It usually occurs as part of a syndrome that involves other abnormalities and requires multidisciplinary treatment.
Infiltration analgesia is deposition of an analgesic (pain-relieving) drug close to the apex of a tooth so that it can diffuse to reach the nerve entering the apical foramina. It is the most routinely used in dental local treatment.
Tooth development or odontogenesis is the complex process by which teeth form from embryonic cells, grow, and erupt into the mouth. For human teeth to have a healthy oral environment, all parts of the tooth must develop during appropriate stages of fetal development. Primary (baby) teeth start to form between the sixth and eighth week of prenatal development, and permanent teeth begin to form in the twentieth week. If teeth do not start to develop at or near these times, they will not develop at all, resulting in hypodontia or anodontia.
In orthodontics, a malocclusion is a misalignment or incorrect relation between the teeth of the upper and lower dental arches when they approach each other as the jaws close. The English-language term dates from 1864; Edward Angle (1855–1930), the "father of modern orthodontics", popularised it. The word derives from mal- 'incorrect' and occlusion 'the manner in which opposing teeth meet'.
The dental follicle, also known as dental sac, is made up of mesenchymal cells and fibres surrounding the enamel organ and dental papilla of a developing tooth. It is a vascular fibrous sac containing the developing tooth and its odontogenic organ. The dental follicle (DF) differentiates into the periodontal ligament. In addition, it may be the precursor of other cells of the periodontium, including osteoblasts, cementoblasts and fibroblasts. They develop into the alveolar bone, the cementum with Sharpey's fibers and the periodontal ligament fibers respectively. Similar to dental papilla, the dental follicle provides nutrition to the enamel organ and dental papilla and also have an extremely rich blood supply.
A dental extraction is the removal of teeth from the dental alveolus (socket) in the alveolar bone. Extractions are performed for a wide variety of reasons, but most commonly to remove teeth which have become unrestorable through tooth decay, periodontal disease, or dental trauma, especially when they are associated with toothache. Sometimes impacted wisdom teeth cause recurrent infections of the gum (pericoronitis), and may be removed when other conservative treatments have failed. In orthodontics, if the teeth are crowded, healthy teeth may be extracted to create space so the rest of the teeth can be straightened.
The maxillary central incisor is a human tooth in the front upper jaw, or maxilla, and is usually the most visible of all teeth in the mouth. It is located mesial to the maxillary lateral incisor. As with all incisors, their function is for shearing or cutting food during mastication (chewing). There is typically a single cusp on each tooth, called an incisal ridge or incisal edge. Formation of these teeth begins at 14 weeks in utero for the deciduous (baby) set and 3–4 months of age for the permanent set.
Dilaceration is a developmental disturbance in shape of teeth. It refers to an angulation, or a sharp bend or curve, in the root or crown of a formed tooth. This disturbance is more likely to affect the maxillary incisors and occurs in permanent dentition. Although this may seem more of an aesthetics issue, an impacted maxillary incisor will cause issues related to occlusion, phonetics, mastication, and psychology on young patients.
A dentigerous cyst, also known as a follicular cyst, is an epithelial-lined developmental cyst formed by accumulation of fluid between the reduced enamel epithelium and the crown of an unerupted tooth. It is formed when there is an alteration in the reduced enamel epithelium and encloses the crown of an unerupted tooth at the cemento-enamel junction. Fluid is accumulated between reduced enamel epithelium and the crown of an unerupted tooth.
“Lateral periodontal cysts (LPCs) are defined as non-keratinised and non-inflammatory developmental cysts located adjacent or lateral to the root of a vital tooth.” LPCs are a rare form of jaw cysts, with the same histopathological characteristics as gingival cysts of adults (GCA). Hence LPCs are regarded as the intraosseous form of the extraosseous GCA. They are commonly found along the lateral periodontium or within the bone between the roots of vital teeth, around mandibular canines and premolars. Standish and Shafer reported the first well-documented case of LPCs in 1958, followed by Holder and Kunkel in the same year although it was called a periodontal cyst. Since then, there has been more than 270 well-documented cases of LPCs in literature.
Tooth eruption is a process in tooth development in which the teeth enter the mouth and become visible. It is currently believed that the periodontal ligament plays an important role in tooth eruption. The first human teeth to appear, the deciduous (primary) teeth, erupt into the mouth from around 6 months until 2 years of age, in a process known as "teething". These teeth are the only ones in the mouth until a person is about 6 years old creating the primary dentition stage. At that time, the first permanent tooth erupts and begins a time in which there is a combination of primary and permanent teeth, known as the mixed dentition stage, which lasts until the last primary tooth is lost. Then, the remaining permanent teeth erupt into the mouth during the permanent dentition stage.
Dental anatomy is a field of anatomy dedicated to the study of human tooth structures. The development, appearance, and classification of teeth fall within its purview. Tooth formation begins before birth, and the teeth's eventual morphology is dictated during this time. Dental anatomy is also a taxonomical science: it is concerned with the naming of teeth and the structures of which they are made, this information serving a practical purpose in dental treatment.
Occlusion, in a dental context, means simply the contact between teeth. More technically, it is the relationship between the maxillary (upper) and mandibular (lower) teeth when they approach each other, as occurs during chewing or at rest.
This is a list of definitions of commonly used terms of location and direction in dentistry. This set of terms provides orientation within the oral cavity, much as anatomical terms of location provide orientation throughout the body.
An impacted tooth is one that fails to erupt into the dental arch within the expected developmental window. Because impacted teeth do not erupt, they are retained throughout the individual's lifetime unless extracted or exposed surgically. Teeth may become impacted because of adjacent teeth, dense overlying bone, excessive soft tissue or a genetic abnormality. Most often, the cause of impaction is inadequate arch length and space in which to erupt. That is the total length of the alveolar arch is smaller than the tooth arch. The wisdom teeth are frequently impacted because they are the last teeth to erupt in the oral cavity. Mandibular third molars are more commonly impacted than their maxillary counterparts.
Cysts of the jaws are cysts—pathological epithelial-lined cavities filled with fluid or soft material—occurring on the bones of the jaws, the mandible and maxilla. Those are the bones with the highest prevalence of cysts in the human body, due to the abundant amount of epithelial remnants that can be left in the bones of the jaws. The enamel of teeth is formed from ectoderm, and so remnants of epithelium can be left in the bone during odontogenesis. The bones of the jaws develop from embryologic processes which fuse, and ectodermal tissue may be trapped along the lines of this fusion. This "resting" epithelium is usually dormant or undergoes atrophy, but, when stimulated, may form a cyst. The reasons why resting epithelium may proliferate and undergo cystic transformation are generally unknown, but inflammation is thought to be a major factor. The high prevalence of tooth impactions and dental infections that occur in the bones of the jaws is also significant to explain why cysts are more common at these sites.
In human anatomy, the mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and produces saliva. The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium lining the inside of the mouth.
