Oral Anatomy
 
No. 1 
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Dissecting a Tooth 
    Did you know that the tooth is the hardest substance of the body? Yap! harder than bone fellas! The tooth has a covering of the crown called the enamel which consist of 96% inorganic material (which makes it so hard) and the remaining 4%, organic substance and water. Beneath the enamel is the Dentin which is 65% inorganic and the remaining 35%, organic substance and water. Dentin made up the bulk of the tooth, and has approximately the same hardness with bone. Cemetum is the covering of the root of the tooth. It is composed of 45-50% inorganic material and 50-55% organic material and water.
    Now, you might wonder, how come the tooth, with its covering which is the hardest substance of the body, be attacked by caries. Studying the initiation of caries in the hardest substance of the body alone will take a whole chapter for a discussion. In the world of Dentistry, there are a couple of Theories that has been laid out by our "forefathers". Although one of it is highly accepted, and we will mention it alone here for a very brief discussion. First let us remember that enamel is 4% organic. Quite a minute percentage, yet a significant presence for bacterial attack. The organic component is made up of fractions of several proteins. Now, here it is: food particles clings to 
    But just what is inorganic material which makes the tooth hard? Inorganic material is composed of apatite crystals packed so tightly together. 
Inside the tooth is the pulp which is divided into the coronal pulp (located at the crown portion) and the radicular pulp (root portion). The pulp is the source of nourishment for the tooth. Inside goes the blood vessels and nerves which the sensory function of the tooth. The pulp is the target of every Root Canal Treatment procedure.
crevices of the tooth. Bacteria inside the mouth are acid producing bacteria, and when they act upon the minute food particle, especially when they are derived from food with high sucrose content, produces  dental plaque which are acidic and clings tenaciously to surfaces of the teeth. The high acidic state will cause degradation of the tooth structure and after that, the protein residues are acid softened and eventually be degraded. Introducing the Acidogenic Theory of Caries.

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