Cavity

Twice-a-year dental checkups are the best way to catch cavities early, before they worsen or grow larger. A dentist will use a number of instruments to examine your teeth. A tooth with a cavity will feel softer when your dentist probes it.

cavity

Most dentists prefer to save your natural teeth. If a cavity results in an abscessed tooth, or the damage is too significant, you may need a tooth extraction. A dentist can discuss your treatment options in detail.

You probably know that a dental cavity is a hole in a tooth. But did you know that a cavity is the result of the tooth decay process that happens over time? Did you know that you can interrupt and even reverse this process to avoid a cavity?

But if the tooth decay process continues, more minerals are lost. Over time, the enamel is weakened and destroyed, forming a cavity. A cavity is permanent damage that a dentist has to repair with a filling.

Your child's diet is important in preventing a cavity. Remember . . . every time we eat or drink something that contains sugar or starches, bacteria in our mouth use the sugar and starch to produce acids. These acids begin to eat away at the tooth's enamel.

Our saliva can help fight off this acid attack. But if we eat frequently throughout the day -- especially foods and drinks containing sugar and starches -- the repeated acid attacks will win the tug of war, causing the tooth to lose minerals and eventually develop a cavity.

Dental sealants are another good way to help avoid a cavity. Sealants are thin, plastic coatings painted onto the chewing surfaces of the back teeth, or molars. Here's why sealants are helpful: The chewing surfaces of back teeth are rough and uneven because they have small pits and grooves. Food and bacteria can get stuck in the pits and grooves and stay there a long time because toothbrush bristles can't easily brush them away. Sealants cover these surfaces and form a barrier that protects teeth and prevents food and bacteria from getting trapped there.

The signs and symptoms of cavities vary, depending on their extent and location. When a cavity is just beginning, you may not have any symptoms at all. As the decay gets larger, it may cause signs and symptoms such as:

You may not be aware that a cavity is forming. That's why it's important to have regular dental checkups and cleanings, even when your mouth feels fine. However, if you experience a toothache or mouth pain, see your dentist as soon as possible.

Cavity. That's the word no one wants to hear at the dentist's office. A cavity (say: KA-vuh-tee) develops when a tooth decays (say: dih-KAZE), or breaks down. A cavity is a hole that can grow bigger and deeper over time. Cavities are also called dental caries (say: KARE-eez), and if you have a cavity, it's important to get it repaired.

If you don't go to the dentist, the acids can continue to make their way through the enamel, and the inside parts of your tooth can begin to decay. If you've ever had a toothache or heard an adult complain about one, it may have been because there was a cavity that reached all the way inside a tooth, where the nerve endings are. Ouch!

Your dentist will carefully examine your teeth and may take X-rays. If your dentist discovers a cavity, he or she can repair it for you by first removing the rotted part of your tooth with a special drill. The dentist then fills the hole in your tooth with a special material. The result is called a filling.

The role of the nasal cavity is to humidify and warm the inspired air. Also, as the air passes through, the nasal cavity removes minute airborne particles and other debris before the air reaches the lower airways. Columnar epithelium lines the nasal cavity. This type of epithelial lining also secretes mucus that coats the lining and helps with the mucociliary clearance of minute aerosolized particles that become trapped in the nasal mucosa. The nasal cavity also functions to facilitate drainage for the secretions from the adjacent paranasal sinuses. It also captures the odor bearing particles and transmits them to the olfactory recesses, that are in the superior portion of the nasal cavity, just medial to the superior turbinates. Air containing mucosal lined sinuses surround the nasal cavity, which includes the frontal, paired maxillary, sphenoid, and ethmoid sinuses. These cavities directly communicate with the nasal cavity. The secretions from these sinuses drain into the nasal cavity via the thin-walled ostia. Like the nasal cavity, the wall lining of the sinuses also secretes mucus. The cilia on the surface sweep the mucus in a carpet like fashion and move them towards the nasal ostia. The hard palate lines the floor of the nasal cavity. The lateral walls are spiral shaped mucosal folds that overlie the turbinates and sinus ducts draining into the ostia. The spiral shape of the turbinates is designed to increase the surface area for the inspired air.

The nasal cavity is the most cephalic part of the respiratory tract. It communicates with the external environment via the anterior apertures, nares, and the nasopharynx via the posterior apertures, choanae. This cavity is divided into two separate cavities by the septum and kept patent by a bone and cartilaginous framework. Each cavity consists of a roof, floor, medial wall, and lateral wall. Within each cavity are three regions; nasal vestibule, respiratory region, and olfactory region.

Surrounding the nasal cavities are air-containing mucosal lined sinuses, which include the frontal sinuses (superior anterior), ethmoid sinuses (superior), paired maxillary sinuses (lateral), and sphenoid sinuses (posterior). All of these paranasal sinuses, except the sphenoid, communicate with the nasal cavity via ducts that drain through ostia, which empty into spaces located on the lateral wall. The sphenoid sinus empties into the posterior roof. Having a fundamental knowledge of the anatomy of the nasal cavity is vital in understanding its functions.

The respiratory region functions to humidify, warm, filter, protect, and eliminate debris. Covered in respiratory epithelium and mucous cells, this is the most substantial part of the nasal cavity. As air traverses through the nasal cavity, it warms to body temperature and reaches near one hundred percent humidity. The neurovascular supply of this region aids this. It regulates the nasal airflow by controlling the blood volume in the erectile tissue on the inferior turbinate and anterior septum. Under normal conditions, this tissue is continuously stimulated by sympathetic signals via the superior cervical ganglia to keep the nasal cavity uncongested.

Particles that get past the nasal vestibule then become trapped in the mucosa of the nasal cavity. When this occurs, the mucociliary system helps get rid of these particles. The ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium sweeps particles at a rate of one centimeter per minute into the nasopharynx for further expulsion.

Olfaction requires orthonasal or retronasal airflow to transport odor-bearing particles up to the olfactory epithelium located at the apex of the nasal cavity. As odorants become trapped in the mucus, it binds to odorant binding proteins that concentrate and help solubilize the particles. The particles are then attached to olfactory receptors on cilia that transmit specific signals up through the cribriform plate to synapse with neurons of the olfactory bulb, which then sends signals through the olfactory nerve (CNI) into the secondary neurons for higher processing before entering the brain. A unique feature of the olfactory receptors is that a single receptor cell can detect only one odorant type and cannot regenerate.[1][2][3]

This canal is located in the floor of the nasal cavity, posterior to the central incisor, and lateral to the nasal septum. This structure transmits the nasopalatine nerve into the oral cavity and the greater palatine artery into the nasal cavity.[1]

The nasal septum partitions the nasal cavity into two equal but separate compartments. Cartilage and bone comprise the nasal septum. It is covered by squamous epithelium, which differs from the lateral walls of the nasal cavity. A portion of the anterior septum is covered in erectile tissue. It also contributes to lateral projections called the upper lateral cartilages, which makes up the middle third of the nose. The bony segment of the septum is pneumatized, and when it over expands, it has the potential to obstruct airflow. Below are the components of the septum.[1]

The nasal cavity's lateral wall has three medially projecting inferiorly curved bones called conchae. The middle and superior conchae are part of the ethmoid bone, whereas the inferior concha is a separate bone altogether. There is a normal variant called the supreme conchae. These conchae, when covered by mucosa, are termed turbinates. The turbinates augment the surface area of the nasal cavity to aid in its functions of humidifying, warming, and humidifying the air. The turbinates create four channels. Three of these channels are termed meatuses, and the fourth is the sphenoethmoidal recess.[1][6][5][7]

Sphenopalatine Foramen: This foramen connects the nasal cavity to the pterygopalatine fossa and is posterior to the middle turbinate in the posterior portion of the superior meatus. The significant content of this foramen is[1][6][5][7]:

The INV is the narrowest portion of the nasal cavity and constitutes the area of highest resistance to airflow, which causes an increase in the acceleration of airflow. Without proper support, this increased airflow causes a decrease in intraluminal pressure, which ultimately causes the INV to collapse; this is Bernoulli's principle of flow. The average cross-sectional area of the INV in adults is around 0.73 square centimeters. At the apex of the valve the ULC and, the nasal septum come together at an angle of 10 to 15 degrees.[8]

As the maxillary prominences proliferate the cause the nasal structures to move medially and by the end of the sixth week, the maxillary prominences begin to merge with the LNP at the nasolacrimal groove. During the sixth to eighth weeks, the nasal cavity and the oral cavity begin to communicate through the choanae. As this is occurring, the lateral wall of the nasal cavity begins forming five ethmoturbinals. The ethmoturbinals eventually form the turbinates and other structures found within each meatus of the nasal cavity.[9][10][11] 041b061a72