Corpus: Dental root
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This text has been translated by an AI and may sound raw. It will be reviewed shortly. Thank you for your patience!
from Latin: radix - root; dens - tooth
Synonym: Radix dentis
English:
Definition[Bearbeiten]
The root of the tooth is the part of the tooth located in the bony tooth socket that serves to anchor it.
Anatomy[Bearbeiten]
The tooth root is an elongated, roundish to oval structure in cross-section, which extends from the crown or neck of the tooth to the apex of the root (apex radicis dentis). It tapers continuously along its course. There are one or more root canals in the substance of the tooth root. A small opening, the foramen apicis dentis, can be seen at the tip, through which the capillaries and nerves radiate into the dental pulp (pulpa dentis).
Due to the diversity of teeth, the number of roots varies depending on the type of tooth in the permanent dentition:
| tooth type | Number of roots |
|---|---|
| incisors (Dentes incisivi) |
single-rooted |
| canines (Dentes canini) |
single-rooted |
| Anterior molars (Dentes praemolares) |
single-rooted, the 1st upper premolar is two-rooted in 60-70% of cases |
| Posterior molars (Dentes molares) |
Upper jaw: three-rooted, lower jaw: two-rooted |
The number of roots can vary between individuals, especially in the wisdom teeth. This applies even more to the number of root canals contained in the roots. For example, the first upper molars (16, 26) can have three or four, rarely even five root canals.
There is less variation in the primary dentition. Here the anterior teeth have one root, the posterior teeth in the lower jaw have two roots and the upper teeth have three roots and root canals.
The division of the tooth roots is called furcation. Two-rooted teeth are referred to as bifurcations, three-rooted teeth as trifurcations.
Topography[Bearbeiten]
The terms coronal, i.e. "towards the crown of the tooth" and apical, i.e. "towards the tip of the root" are used to indicate the direction and position of the tooth root.
Histology[Bearbeiten]
The root of the tooth consists mainly of dentine. It is fixed in the alveolar bone by the root cementum (cementum dentis) and the Sharpey fibres of the periosteum (desmodontium). The root cementum has a thickness of 100 to 500 µm and consists of fibroblasts and cementocytes.
see also: Periodontium
Function[Bearbeiten]
The tooth root ensures that the tooth is firmly mechanically anchored in the jawbone and that the pulp it contains nourishes the vital parts of the tooth (e.g. odontoblasts).
Clinic[Bearbeiten]
Like the crown of the tooth, the root of the tooth can also be affected by caries. Root caries mainly occurs at an advanced age - usually because the root of the tooth has been exposed due to periodontitis. More rarely, it is caused by the spread of deep caries (caries profunda) from the crown of the tooth.
Therapeutic interventions in the area of the tooth root include root filling and apicoectomy. After tooth loss, the function of the tooth root can be replaced by dental implants if necessary.