Periodontal ligament

The periodontal ligament is a fibrous connective tissue between tooth cementum and alveolar bone. Its collagen fibers anchor teeth while allowing slight movement and transmitting forces to surrounding bone.

Sharpey’s fibers: Collagen fiber bundles embedded in mineralized tissue, anchoring connective tissues to bone or tooth cementum. Their ends embed in cementum and alveolar bone, fastening the ligament to both.
Cementum: A mineralized tissue covering tooth roots and providing attachment for periodontal ligament fibers. The ligament’s root-side fibers insert into this outer covering.
Orthodontic tooth movement: The repositioning of teeth through sustained forces that remodel surrounding periodontal tissues and bone. Orthodontic forces pass through the ligament and trigger socket remodeling.
Alveolar crest fibers: Periodontal ligament fibers running from cervical root cementum toward the alveolar crest. They resist tooth extrusion and lateral movement near the socket’s rim.
Gingiva: The soft tissue surrounding the necks of teeth and covering the jaw’s alveolar processes. Unlike the ligament, it protects the tooth-supporting region rather than suspending roots in sockets.
Periodontal ligament fibroblast: A connective-tissue cell that produces and remodels the periodontal ligament’s extracellular matrix. These cells continually renew the collagen fibers that bear tooth-loading forces.
Alveolar process: The portion of the jawbone that forms and supports the tooth sockets. It supplies the bone-side attachment for the ligament surrounding each tooth root.
Dental implant: A prosthetic fixture placed in jawbone to support a replacement tooth. Unlike a natural tooth, an implant lacks a periodontal ligament and its sensory cushioning.
Horizontal fibers: Periodontal ligament fibers that extend horizontally from root cementum to alveolar bone. Their orientation helps resist sideways tooth displacement.
Alveolar bone: The jawbone that forms the tooth sockets and supports the roots through ligament attachment. It is the mineralized socket wall; the ligament is the flexible tissue between it and cementum.

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