Tooth Structure

There are a number of components to human teeth.

• Enamel - The hardest substance in the body. This covers the tooth and provides a tough surface for biting and chewing.
• Dentine - This is also a hard substance. It has tiny tubes running from the pulp cavity outwards which are filled with blood vessels and nerves. The tooth is a living part of the body and needs blood vessels to supply it with nutrients. The nerves sense things like pressure and pain.
• Pulp cavity - The hollow region inside the tooth. Pulp is the blood vessels and nerves which keep the tooth alive.
• Cement - covers the dentine in the jaw and provides anchorage for tough fibres which hold the tooth in place.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.

2005 Psionica