Synonym
pulp, pulp, tooth pulp
Introduction
An adult human usually has 32 teeth. These are 4 front teeth (Incisivi), 2 canines (Canini), 4 premolars, 4 molars and 2 wisdom teeth per half of the jaw. Since the size of the human jaw is constantly decreasing, in most people the wisdom teeth are removed in early youth.
The individual teeth of the chewing organ are anchored in the jawbone via the so-called periodontium. From an anatomical point of view, the gums (lat. Gingiva propria), the cementum, the alveolar socket and the periodontium (Desmodont or Periodontium) are counted as part of this periodontal apparatus.
However, the individual teeth do not sit rigidly and unyieldingly in their tooth socket. Rather, they are suspended by springs on collagen-containing fiber bundles and are therefore able to absorb the compressive forces prevailing during the chewing process. Since teeth are also “organs” whose survival depends on an optimal blood supply and a nervous network, they too must have their own nerve fibers (tooth nerve).
Anatomy
In anatomy, the term “dental nerve” refers to the inner part of each tooth. The term dental nerve is actually a very unfortunate choice, because what is colloquially called dental nerve would have to be called dental pulp (from the Latin word pulpa, flesh) or tooth marrow from a dental point of view. The dental nerve itself fills the entire inner area of a tooth, the pulp cavity (technical term: pulp cavum).
The pulp cavity itself is firmly surrounded by hard tooth substance (dentine and enamel) and thus fulfils a nerve fibre protective function. Inside the tooth, the pulp cavity extends from the crown to the tip (technical term: apex) of the tooth roots. The main part of the dental nerve (dental pulp) consists of connective tissue, in which lymph and blood vessels as well as nerve fibers are embedded.
Smallest parts of these nerve fibers (technical term: tomes fibers) even reach from the inside of the pulp cavity to the hard tooth substance, which they reach through fine channels (so-called dentine tubules). These smallest fibers of the dental nerve are responsible for the transmission of pain stimuli caused by supra-threshold mechanical, thermal and/or chemical stimuli. The dental nerve (dental pulp) is anatomically divided into two sections, the crown and root pulp, based on its exact location inside the tooth. Irritations and/or damage to the dental nerve have considerable consequences for the affected patient. On the one hand, damage to the dental nerve can cause severe pain, on the other hand, a “dead” tooth is much harder to hold in the jaw and tends to darken the hard tooth substance due to the lack of blood and nutrients.
