Dental alveoli (singular ''alveolus'') are sockets in the jaws in which the roots of teeth are held in the

alveolar process The alveolar process () or alveolar bone is the thickened ridge of bone that contains the tooth sockets on the jaw bones (in humans, the maxilla and the mandible). The structures are covered by gums as part of the oral cavity. The synonymous ter ...

with the

periodontal ligament The periodontal ligament, commonly abbreviated as the PDL, is a group of specialized connective tissue fibers that essentially attach a tooth to the alveolar bone within which it sits. It inserts into root cementum one side and onto alveolar ...

. The lay term for dental alveoli is tooth sockets. A joint that connects the roots of the teeth and the alveolus is called '' gomphosis'' (plural ''gomphoses''). Alveolar bone is the bone that surrounds the roots of the teeth forming bone sockets. In

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s, tooth sockets are found in the maxilla, the premaxilla, and the mandible.

Etymology

1706, "a hollow," especially "the socket of a tooth," from Latin alveolus "a tray, trough, basin; bed of a small river; small hollow or cavity," diminutive of alvus "belly, stomach, paunch, bowels; hold of a ship," from PIE root *aulo- "hole, cavity" (source also of Greek aulos "flute, tube, pipe;" Serbo-Croatian, Polish, Russian ulica "street," originally "narrow opening;" Old Church Slavonic uliji, Lithuanian aulys "beehive" (hollow trunk), Armenian yli "pregnant"). The word was extended in 19c. anatomy to other small pits, sockets, or cells.

Socket preservation

Socket preservation or alveolar ridge preservation (ARP) is a procedure to reduce bone loss after tooth extraction to preserve the dental alveolus (tooth socket) in the alveolar bone. A platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) membrane containing bone growth enhancing elements can be stitched over the wound or a graft material or scaffold is placed in the socket of an extracted tooth. The socket is then directly closed with stitches or covered with a non-resorbable or resorbable membrane and sutured.

Pathology

The swelling of the dental alveoli can result in alveolitis, causing pain and discomfort to the mouth.

References

External links

* National Institute of Health
CRISP Database
{{Authority control Parts of tooth

Etymology

Socket preservation

Pathology

See also

References

External links