Dental pulp

Definition of Pulp

Pulpal anatomy

Structural organization of dental pulp:

✓ Coronal pulp

✓ Radicular pulp

✓ Apical foramen

✓ Accessory canals
Knowledge:
At the end of the session the students must be able to:
• Define pulp
• Describe the anatomical structure and structural
organization of pulp such as coronal pulp, radicular
pulp, apical foramen and accessory canals
Skills:
• Apply the detailed knowledge in clinical dental practice
for making diagnosis and treatment plan
What is Dental pulp?

Dental pulp can be defined as a richly vascularized and

innervated connective tissue of ectomesenchymal
origin, residing in the central portion of tooth, enclosed
by dentin
➢ The shape of the pulp
resembles the shape of the
tooth in which it is present

➢ Volume of the pulp:

The total volume of all teeth
pulp is 0.38cc and the mean
volume of a single tooth pulp is
0.02cc
Structural organization of the pulp

Coronal pulp
Pulp Chamber
Pulp horns
Radicular pulp
Apical Foramen
Accessory canals
Coronal Pulp:
The pulp present in the crown is called coronal pulp

Coronal pulp has got six surfaces namely:

Roof or occlusal

Mesial

Distal

Buccal

Lingual

Floor
Coronal pulp has two main parts:
Pulp Chamber

Pulp Horns

Pulp becomes smaller with age because of continuous

deposition of dentin
Radicular Pulp:
Portion of the pulp located in the root
area OR
The part of pulp that extends from the
cervical line to the root apex

Canal Orifices are openings in the

floor of pulp chamber leading into
the root canals
Anterior teeth may have single root pulp while posterior
teeth have two or three root canals depending upon
the number of roots
 Apical Foramen:

➢ A small opening which marks

the termination of the root apex
is called apical foramen

➢ Neurovascular bundle enter the

pulp through apical foramen

➢ Pulp communicates with the

periodontium through the apical
foramen
Closed apex
Size of Apical foramen:

The average size of the apical foramen of the maxillary

teeth in the adult is 0.4 mm.

In the mandibular teeth it is slightly smaller, being 0.3

mm in diameter.
Clinical considerations of Apical Foramen:

➢ The location and shape of the apical foramen may

undergo changes as a result of functional influences
on the teeth.
A tooth may be tipped from horizontal pressure, or it
may migrate mesially causing the apex to tilt in the
opposite direction.
➢ As a result the tissues entering the pulp through the
apical foramen may exert pressure on one wall of the
foramen causing resorption.
➢ At the same time, cementum is laid down on the
opposite side of the apical root canal, resulting in
relocation of the original foramen
 Accessory Canals:
These are the canals that radiate
laterally through the root dentin
from the pulp to the periodontal
tissues
Formed due to premature loss of root sheath cells
because these cells induce the formation of
odontoblasts which form dentin
It may also be formed where the developing
root encounters a blood vessel
 They are
involved in
the spread of
Clinical infection from
significance: pulp to the
periodontal
ligament and
vice versa