Toothspot - All About Teeth

Tongue Anatomy      The inside of your mouth is covered by a delicate lining of mucous membrane. It is kept moist and lubricated by saliva, which is produced in three pairs of salivary glands in your mouth. These are the sublingual glands located under your tongue, the submandibular glands located in the floor of your mouth, and the parotid glands located above the angle of your jaw. Your tongue is composed of a complex system of muscles that enable it to move food around as you chew. The surface of your tongue is covered with hair-like projections called papillae with groups of tastebuds arranged in clusters around them. Your tastebuds can distinguish four main types of flavors: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. The majority of disorders affecting the mouth and tongue are not serious and are easy to treat. However, because it is possible for malignancies to form there, you should consult your physician or dentist of any condition persisting for more than two weeks.  We'r

The Jaws and Dental Arches The teeth are arranged in upper and lower arches. Those of the upper are called maxillary; those of the lower arch are called mandibular. The mandible is a horseshoe shaped bone which articulates with the skull by way of the temporomandibular joint, or the TMJ. Dentition Dentition is a term that describes all of the upper and lower teeth collectively. Clinically, there are three types of dentitions: The primary dentition consists of 20 teeth in all: ten upper and ten lower. Primary teeth are also called 'baby teeth, deciduous, or 'milk' teeth. Primary teeth begin to appear at about six months and are entirely replaced by permanent teeth by 12 to 13 years of age. The mixed dentition is the stage from ages 6 to 12  and is composed of both primary and permanent teeth. The permanent dentition is composed of 32 teeth in all, 16 upper and 16 lower. Types of dentition Homodont - Teeth that differ from each other only in size.

Anatomical Background of Cavities Your teeth break the food you eat into pieces that can be readily swallowed and digested. Teeth are alive. The pulp at the heart of each tooth contains blood vessels and nerves that sense heat, cold, pressure, and pain. A hard substance called dentin surrounds the pulp. On the crown (the part of the tooth above the gum), the dentin is covered by a layer of enamel. The root of the tooth lies below the gum and and is covered by a protective layer of a bone-like material called cementum. In health, the gums fit tightly around the teeth; the roots of the teeth fit into sockets in the jaw bone. A shock-absorbing material, periodontal ligament, lines the socket of each tooth and protecting the skull and jawbone from being jarred. Enamel is the hardest material in you body; however, acids produced through bacterial action can erode enamel and lead to decay, If left unchecked, decay will progress through the dentin and into the pulp resulting in pulpa