Oral Histology Overview and Case Study

Overview

• Oral histology is a subject within Oral Dental Sciences, aiming to support learning via pre-recorded sessions
• The workbook is self-directed and not mandatory but is recommended to improve foundational understanding, relevant for students in year 1, 2, 3, and future careers
• Students will be assessed on oral histology as part of the overall summative assessment and oral dental sciences. This is crucial for future care planning, assessment, and provision practice.
• A case study session will help consolidate learning

Resources to Support Learning

• Textbook: Berkovitz et al. (2018) Oral Anatomy, Histology and Embryology.
• Chapters include enamel, dentine, pulp, and cementum
• Articles on specific topics such as enamel structure, enamel defects, and dentine structure
• Online videos and virtual laboratories are available for further study to improve understanding of topics such as amelogenesis and enamel structure.

Composition Comparison Table

• The table compares the mineral content, organic content, water content, embryonic origin, formation cell lifespan, key structural features, and key functions of enamel, dentine, pulp, and cementum.

Histology of Enamel

• Diagram of the arrangement of enamel
• Topics include enamel rods, orientation, interrod, enamel crystallites
• Link between structure and function: explains how the features enable enamel function.
• Structural features and their clinical significance: a brief description including incremental lines, enamel tufts, enamel spindles, perkymata, Hunter-Schreger bands, stria of Retzius, and lamellae
• How does the structure of enamel link to its function? Relate to features like enamel rods.
• Susceptibility to dental caries and resistance to decay and the impact on dental care management practices.

Histology of Dentine

• Diagram of the structure and contents of dentine tubules, including peritubular dentine, intertubular dentine, odontoblast process, periodontoblastic space, and fluid
• Structural feature descriptions: incremental lines, dentinal tubules, interglobular dentine, sclerotic dentine, dead tracts, granular layer of tomes
• Comparing primary, secondary, and tertiary dentine (table format)
• How do the components of dentine influence its softness compared to enamel, and how does this affect caries progression?
• How does the structure of dentine allow it to carry out its functions (protection, support, repair, pain signaling)?

Histology of Pulp

• Diagram showing the location of the pulp in different teeth (upper central incisor, lower second molar, upper first premolar)
• Diagram showing components of the pulp (e.g., pulp horn, coronal pulp, nerve trunk, bifurcation zone, root pulp)
• Table about composition, structure, and function of different elements of pulp tissue, including blood vessels, lymph vessels, nerves, odontoblasts, fibroblasts, defense cells, undifferentiated cells, ground substance.
• Ways in which dentine and pulp are structurally related, implications of pulp inflammation on function related to location.

Histology of Cementum

• Embryonic origin of cementum (ectoderm, mesoderm, ectomesenchyme, endoderm)
• Cementogenesis and the cell type responsible (ameloblasts, cementoblasts, osteoblasts, cementocytes)
• Table comparing the composition of enamel, dentine, cementum, and bone in terms of mineral content, critical pH, cell presence, and functions.
• Types of cementum fibers (acellular, cellular, etc), and their location on the tooth and functions.
• Relationship between acellular versus cellular cementum and their features/distribution, how these relate to functions at the tooth root
• Three possible configurations of the cemento-enamel junction
• Significance of a gap when the CEJ is exposed