What is a Tooth?
A tooth is composed of four dental tissues: enamel, dentin and cementum, which are hard or calcified, and pulp, which is soft or noncalcified. The visible part of the tooth is called the crown. It is made of enamel, an extremely hard, non-living substance. Because it contains no living cells, tooth enamel cannot repair damage from decay or from wear. Only a dentist can correct these conditions.
Tooth Anatomy
Enamel
Hard calcified tissue covering dentin of the crown of tooth.- Anatomical Crown
That portion of tooth normally covered by, and including, enamel. - Gingiva (gums)
Soft tissues overlying the crowns of unerupted teeth and encircling the necks of those that have erupted. - Pulp Chamber
The space occupied by the pulp. - Neck
The area where the crown joins the root. - Dentin
That part of the tooth that is beneath enamel and cementum. - Alveolar Bone (jawbone)
The part of the jaw that surround the roots of the teeth. - Root Canal
The portion of the pulp cavity inside the root of a tooth; the chamber within the root of the tooth that contains the pulp. - Cementum
Hard connective tissue covering the tooth root, giving attachment to the periodontal ligament. - Periodontal Ligament
A system of collagenous connective tissue fibers that connect the root of a tooth to its alveolus.
~ Courtesy of the American Dental Association
