Dentin
Dentin
Dentin (/ˈdɛntɪn/), also spelled dentine in British English, is a calcified tissue of the body and, along with enamel, cementum, and pulp, one of the four major components of teeth. It is usually covered by enamel on the crown and cementum on the root and surrounds the entire pulp.
Etymology
The term "dentin" comes from the Latin word "dens", which means "tooth". The suffix "-in" is derived from the Latin "-ina" which is used to form names of substances.
Structure
Dentin is a mineralized connective tissue with an organic matrix of collagenous proteins. Dentin has microscopic channels, called dentinal tubules, which radiate outward through the dentin from the pulp cavity to the exterior cementum or enamel border. The diameter of these tubules range from 2.5 μm near the pulp, to 1.2 μm in the midportion, and 900 nm near the dentinoenamel junction.
Types of Dentin
There are three types of dentin, primary, secondary and tertiary. Primary dentin is formed before eruption of the tooth into the mouth. Secondary dentin is formed after eruption. Tertiary dentin is created in response to stimuli, such as tooth decay or wear.
Related Terms
- Enamel: The hard, outermost layer of a tooth.
- Cementum: A specialized calcified substance covering the root of a tooth.
- Pulp: The part in the center of a tooth made up of living connective tissue and cells called odontoblasts.
- Odontoblast: A cell of neural crest origin that is part of the outer surface of the dental pulp, and whose biological function is dentinogenesis, which is the formation of dentin, a substance that forms the majority of teeth.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Dentin
- Wikipedia's article - Dentin
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