Untitled Quiz

Periodontal Anatomy I

• The lecture covers the anatomy of the gingiva and periodontal ligament
• Students should be able to identify clinical and microscopic gingival features, correlating them by color, size, shape, and contour
• Students should understand the functions and features of gingival epithelium and the various stages of tooth eruption
• Recognition and categorization of gingival fibers and periodontal fibers, their structures and functions are crucial
• Comparison between gingival and periodontal fibers is essential
• The periodontium consists of cementum, periodontal ligament, alveolar bone, and gingiva

Defining Periodontal Tissues

• The periodontium is the set of tissues encompassing, supporting, and anchoring teeth within alveolar processes
• This group is essential for proper tooth function
• The periodontium's structure is comprised of cementum, periodontal ligament, alveolar bone, and gingiva

Gingival Anatomy

• Gingiva is masticatory mucosa covering alveolar processes and surrounding tooth necks
• It plays a key role in safeguarding underlying tissues

Gingival Anatomy Continued

• This section distinguishes interdental, free, and attached gingiva
• Interdental gingiva sits in the embrasures, the pointed areas bordering the teeth
• Free gingiva surrounds each tooth, exhibiting a knife-like edge
• Attached gingiva, in contrast, firmly connects to the alveolar bone

Interdental Gingiva

• It fills the interproximal space
• Its form is either pyramidal or "col-shaped," depending on contact points and gingival recession

Margin (Free) Gingiva

• It has a knife-edge appearance, encircling teeth in a collar-like pattern
• It's detached from the tooth surface
• The soft tissue wall of the gingival sulcus is formed by this gingiva
• Distinguishing characteristic: a clear marginal groove separating it from attached gingiva.

Attached Gingiva

• This section outlines attached gingiva's defining characteristics, including its color, consistency, and stippling
• It's typically a vibrant pink color
• It exhibits firm and resilient consistency
• Stippling is a surface texture feature that may or may not be present.
• Importantly, attached gingiva is not present on the palatal aspect.

Gingival Sulcus

• The shallow V-shaped space surrounding each tooth, walled by the tooth and marginal gingiva
• Depth, a critical clinical parameter, ranges from 1.5 to 1.8 mm (histologically) to 2-3 mm (clinically)

Gingival (Sulcular) Fluid

• This fluid, originating from connective tissue (CT) within the gum, is substantial in both health and disease assessment.
• Functions for sulcus cleaning and boasts antimicrobial and antibody activity.
• Containing plasma proteins, it demonstrates bonding to teeth

Gingival Tissue Microscopic Features, Cells, and Epithelium

• Gingiva is structured with stratified squamous epithelium and a connective tissue core
• Keratinocytes are vital, active in proliferation and differentiation relative to the oral environment
• Major types of gingival cells comprise keratinocytes, Langerhans cells, melanocytes, and Merkel cells.
• Different epithelial types (sulcular, junctional, oral) with their structural characteristics are examined

Periodontal Ligament

•  A complex tissue, highly cellular and vascular, it encompasses the tooth root's exterior and binds it to the inner wall of the alveolar bone's structure
• It's a crucial anchoring element connecting teeth to bone, crucial for maintaining tooth position and function
•  Fibrous connective tissue encompassing the root surface, it attaches to cementum on one aspect and to the alveolar bone on the opposing surface

Periodontal Ligament continued

• It's characterized by a width (0.1-0.25mm) narrowest at the root's center.
• Principal fibers, grouped into six different types, form a complex network, providing a critical anchoring system to the dental structure.

Periodontal Ligament Features

• Key components of the periodontal ligament include collagenous fibers, arrayed in bundles or groups
• The principal collagenous fibers display a unique wavy arrangement, essential for adapting to the dynamic environment in the mouth with the principal functions of supporting teeth.

Periodontal Ligament continued

• It's crucial in maintaining the relationship between teeth and supporting bone structures
• It's part of the periodontium.
• It's essential in maintaining tooth position.
•  Cellular elements (fibroblasts, cementoblasts, osteoblasts, epithelial rests of Malassez, and various defense cells) contribute to the functioning of the tissue.
• The connective tissue matrix and its content (glycosaminoglycans, glycoproteins) contribute significantly towards the maintenance of this tissue.
• Function: physical (attachment, soft tissue casing, shock absorption); formative and remodeling (cementum and bone formation); nutritional (nutrition to cementum, bone, gingiva); sensory (pain, pressure, touch transduction).

Normal Gingiva Details

• It's described as pale pink and usually exhibits a collar-like scalloped contour, firmness, and a distinctive stippling due to its distinct surface texture.
• Its shape can be narrow or broad interdental papillae, with accompanying knife-edge gingival margins.
• The tissues are also often positioned to cover the entire surface of the tooth root.