Dental Anatomy

Teeth
• Arranged in the oral cavity in two arches called the dental arches one upper
(Maxilla) and one lower (Mandible).

• Each dental arch has a midline, an imaginary vertical plane that divides the arch into
two approximately equal right and left segments named as quadrant.

Classes of teeth
• Incisors……..The two front teeth in each quadrant.

• Canines…….. There is one canine in each quadrant.

• Premolars……..There are two in each quadrant.

• Molars……..There are three in each quadrant.

Gingiva
• It is that part of the masticatory tissue that surrounds the cervical part of teeth.

• It is firmly attached to the teeth and their surrounding bone.

Tongue
• A broad, flat organ composed of muscle fibers and glands.

• The principle organ of taste.

• Important in speech, during mastication and deglutition (swallowing).

• Surfaces of the tongue:

– The dorsum (topside)

– The ventral or undersurface

Floor of the mouth
• It is shiny and some large blood vessels may be seen near the surface.

• A valley shaped space between tongue and teeth is named as alveolingual sulcus.

Roof of the mouth

• Its anterior part is named as hard palate.

• The end of the hard palate is opposite the third molars where the anterior border of
soft palate extends between right and left third molar.

• The junction between hard and soft palate is called vibrating line.

• Uvula is a small fleshy structure hanging from the center of posterior border of soft
palate.

Cheeks
• The lining of the inside of the cheeks is shiny with a white line called linea alba
buccalis running posteriorly on each side at the level where the upper and lower
teeth come together.

• The parotid papilla: It is a round elevation of tissue between first and second molars
at just above the occlusal plane.

The Dentitions
• The word dentition means all of the upper and lower teeth considered collectively.

• Humans have two dentitions one during childhood and one for most or all of
adulthood.

1. The primary(deciduous)dentition:

• The one that is shed or exfoliated

 Shedding: is the physiological loss of the deciduous teeth and their subsequent
replacement by permanent teeth.

• It is composed of 20 teeth, 10 maxillary and 10 mandibular (In each quadrant 5

teeth)

• A dental formula: I 2/2 C 1/1 M 2/2

2. The permanent dentition:

• It is also called the secondary, adult or succedaneous dentitions since many of these
permanent teeth succeed deciduous teeth.

• The deciduous molars are succeeded by a group of teeth named as premolars, which
are not represented in deciduous dentition.

• All the permanent molars are not preceded with deciduous teeth. So they termed as
non-succedaneous teeth.

• Composed of 32 teeth. 16 maxillary and 16 mandibular. (In each quadrant 8 teeth)

• The total number of the permanent teeth will exceed that of the deciduous teeth
with 12 (three molars in each quadrant).

• The dental formula: I 2/2 C 1/1 PM 2/2 M 3/3

Tooth anatomy

 Macro-Anatomy of tooth
1. Crown:

 Is the coronal part of the tooth seen in the oral cavity

 Terminates with:

 Horizontal cutting (incisal ridge)

 Tapered sharply pointed end (cusp)

o Anatomical Crown

 Is the portion of the tooth that covered by enamel.

 Remains constant throughout the life of the tooth except for attrition & other
pathological wear.

o Clinical Crown

 It is a portion of the anatomical crown that is visible in the oral cavity & not covered
by the gingiva

 The clinical crown height is determined by the location of gingival margin

2. Root
It is the part of the tooth embedded, surrounded & supported with the jaw bones.
o Anatomical root: The portion of the tooth covered by cementum
o Clinical Root
 The part of a tooth which is under the gingiva, not exposed to the oral cavity &
embeded in the jaw bones.
 It may be longer that the anatomic root.
 On newly erupted teeth, any part of the crown not erupted is considered to be part
of the clinical root.
 In an elderly person with considerable recession of the gingiva clinical root would be
shorter than the anatomic root because the portion of the root that is exposed to
the oral cavity is considered part of the clinical crown.
 Teeth divided according to the number of roots into:
Single rooted teeth & Multiple rooted teeth.
 The Undivided portion of the root is called ROOT TRUNK .
3. The Neck
 It is the junction between the anatomic crown & the anatomic root (Cervical Line)
 This line is located at the cervical border of the anatomic crown where the enamel &
cementum meet (Cemento-enamel junction ”CEJ”)

 Microanatomy of the tooth

• Enamel (Calcified tissue):

– Covered the anatomical crown.

– The most mineralized & hardest tissue in the human body. (resist wear)

• Cementum (Calcified tissue):

– Dull yellow surface, covers the anatomical root.

– Provides a medium for the attachment of PL to the jaw bones.

• Dentin (Calcified tissue):

– Hard yellow tissue underlying the enamel & cementum.

– Making up the main bulk of the tooth.

– The inner portion covers of both crown & root covers the pulp cavities where
the pulp tissue is located
• Pulp (Delicate specialized connective tissue):

– The only soft tissue supplying the tooth with blood vessels, lymphatics &
nerves.

– Pulp cavity consists of:

• Pulp chamber: in the central portion of the anatomical crown &

contains the pulp horns.

• Root canal: in the root & its constricted opening at the apex is called
apical foramen which transmits the neuro-vascular & lymphatic
bundles to enter within the pulp tissue.

 Junctions of tooth tissues:

• Cemento-enamel junction (CEJ)

• Dentino-enamel junction

• Dentino-cemental junction

 The periodontium
– The investing & supporting attachment systems of teeth.

– It is important for the integrity & function of teeth.

– Concists of :

• Soft tissues (Gingiva & PL)

• Hard tissues (Cementum & alveolar bone)

  Functions of teeth
1. Mastication (The most important function):

 Incisors….cutting food

 Canine….holding teeth ,cutting & tearing of food

 Premolars….tearing & grinding food

 Molars….grinding food

2. Appearance

The facial appearance is altered by extraction of teeth especially the anterior one.

3. Speech

 Clear pronunciation

 Production of sound

4. Growth of jaws

The teeth play a role in the growth of the jaws in some periods.

Tooth Surfaces
1. Facial Surface

• Anterior teeth…close to the lip (labial surface)

• Posterior teeth…close to the cheek (Buccal surface)

2. Lingual Surface

• Close to the tongue

• Maxillary teeth…palatal surface

3. Mesial Surface (Close to the midline)
4. Distal Surface (Farthest away from the midline)

 Together (mesial & distal) called Proximal Surface which contains the contact points(
where the adjacent teeth are in contact with each other)

5. The masticatory Surfaces:

Anterior teeth….Incisal surface & Posterior teeth….Occlusal surface

 Line & Point Angles

1. Line Angle

 The junction of two surfaces , e.g. : mesiolingual line angle

 The anterior teeth have fewer line angles in comparison of that of posterior
teeth because of its rounded incisal edge (mesio-incisal & disto-incisal line
angles are not existent)

2. Point Angles

 The junction of three surfaces, e.g : mesio-lingo-incisal point angle

Dr. Eman Abed