Dental pulp

Dental pulp is the living soft tissue inside a tooth, containing blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissue. It nourishes dentin and responds to injury and infection.

Dentin: Dentin is the mineralized tissue beneath tooth enamel and cementum that forms most of a tooth. It surrounds the pulp and carries microscopic tubules that connect to pulp cells.
Dental pulp blood supply: The dental pulp blood supply is the network of vessels entering and leaving through openings at tooth roots. These vessels provide oxygen and nutrients within the pulp’s rigid chamber.
Pulpitis: Pulpitis is inflammation of dental pulp, commonly caused by deep decay, trauma, or dental procedures. Its symptoms and severity help determine whether the pulp can be retained.
Dental caries: Dental caries is the progressive loss of tooth mineral caused by acids produced by bacterial biofilms. Advanced decay can reach the pulp and provoke inflammation or infection.
Odontoblast: An odontoblast is a specialized cell that forms dentin and extends a process into dentinal tubules. These cells line the pulp’s edge and continue producing dentin throughout life.
Dental pulp innervation: Dental pulp innervation is the network of sensory and autonomic nerve fibers within pulp tissue. Its fibers transmit pain and help regulate local blood flow.
Vital pulp therapy: Vital pulp therapy is treatment intended to preserve living pulp in a tooth. It targets inflamed or exposed pulp while avoiding complete tissue removal.
Cracked tooth syndrome: Cracked tooth syndrome is a pattern of pain associated with an incomplete fracture in a tooth. A crack can irritate pulp tissue and produce pain that is difficult to localize.
Dental pulp stem cell: A dental pulp stem cell is a self-renewing cell from pulp tissue capable of forming several cell types. These cells help explain the pulp’s capacity for repair and tissue regeneration.
Pulpal inflammation: Pulpal inflammation is an immune response within the confined soft tissue of a tooth. Inflammation can raise tissue pressure where expansion is limited by surrounding dentin.

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