Anatomical Features of The Face and Oral Cavity Flashcards
What are the regions of the face?
- Forehead - extending from the eyebrows to the hairline
- Temples - posterior to the eyes
- Orbital - eye area that is covered by the eyelids
- External nose
- Mouth and lips
- Cheeks
How many landmarks of the face are there?
12
Where are the inner/outer canthus?
The folds of tissue on the inner and outer external eyes
Where is the ala?
Wing like projections on the outer side of each nostril
Where is the philtrum?
Indentation (depression) above the upper lip formed by the medial nasal processes. If process is interrupted, can form a cleft lip
Where are the labial commissures?
Corner of the mouth where upper and lower lip meets
Where are the nasolabial sulcus?
Smile lines - the groove extending upwards between each labial commissure and the alas of the nose
What is the vermilion zone?
Lips
What is the vermillion border?
Edge of the lips
What is the tragus?
cartilage projection anterior to the external opening of the ear
What is the zygomatic process?
Prominence of the cheek/cheek bone
What is the glabella?
Smooth surface of the frontal bone (forehead)
What is the nasion?
Midpoint between the eyes below the eyebrows (where the nose meets the glabella)
Where is the root?
Bridge of the nose
Where is the septum?
The tissue that divides the nasal cavity
Where is the naris?
The nostrils
What is the mental protuberance?
Chin
Where is the angle of the mandible?
Start of the jawline (posterior to the chin)
What is the oral cavity?
The beginning of the digestive system, begins at the lips and extends posterior to the palatine tonsils. Posterior end forms a pathway to the respiratory system
What are the tissues of the oral cavity?
All soft tissues (mucosa) of the oral cavity fall under three categories:
- Masticatory mucosa - thick, keratinized tissue that can withstand being chewed (gingiva, hard palate, tongue)
- Lining mucosa - thin tissue (floor of the mouth, soft palate, alveolar mucosa, lining of the cheeks)
- Specialized mucosa - contains tastebuds (tongue)
Where are the tonsils?
Lie at the back of the throat between two folds of tissue, one in front and one behind, called the tonsillar pillar or tonsillar arch
What is the oral pharynx?
Posterior to the pillars is the end of the oral cavity and the beginning of the oral pharynx, a shared path between the respiratory tract and digestive tract
Where does the respiratory system start?
At the nasal cavity and includes the nasal pharynx, oral pharynx and the laryngeal pharynx, the last 2 share space
What are the two areas of the oral cavity?
- Vestibule: space between the teeth and the inner lining of the lips and cheeks (includes gums)
- Oral cavity proper: space contained within the upper and lower dental arches, includes floor of the mouth to the palate (tongue as well)
What are the borders of the vestibule?
- Cheeks: formed by buccinator muscle, skin on the outside, lining mucosa on the inside
- Buccinator: extends back from the commissures to join with muscles of the throat
- Obicularis Oris: lip muscles
What is the zygomatic arch?
The upper posterior vestibular space is slipped posteriorly by the beginning of a ridge bone called the zygomatic arch (cheek bone)
Mucobuccal and mucolabial
Point where the lips or cheeks turn in toward the gingiva
Alveolar mucosa
The mucosa lying over the alveolar bone (jaw bone) is loose, red, thin and vascular
Mucogingival junction
The point where the tissue becomes attached. Attached tissue is pink, thick (keratinized) and pigmented
Frenum
Narrow band of connective tissue that connects two structures (between centrals up top, other areas as well)
What is the labial frenum?
Passes from the midline of the maxillary or mandibular arch to the midline of the inner structure of the lip
What is the buccal frenum?
Passes from the oral mucosa near the maxillary or mandibular first premolars to the inner surface of the cheek
What is a diastema and what causes it in some cases?
A space between two teeth, can be caused in centrals by the maxillary labial frenum being too thick and extending to the crest of the alveolar bone between two erupting central incisors
How can the mandibular labial frenum and buccal frena affect the gingiva?
If it extends close enough to the gingiva, it can cause gingival recession
What are exostoses and where are they located?
Bony growth only located on the buccal side of the mandible and maxilla. Can be caused by grinding or clenching and are considered normal and have no consequence unless for denture, which they would have to be shaved off for
What type of mucosa are the gingivae?
Masticatory mucosa, covers the alveolar process of the jaws and surrounds the neck of the teeth
Name some characteristics of normal gingiva
- Surround the tooth in a collar-like fashion
- Self-cleansing
- Firm, resistant, tightly adapted to the tooth and bone
- Surfaces of attached gingiva and interdental papillae are stippled (dots)
- Colour varies according to patient’s pigmentation
- Gingiva should be pretty pink, redder colours may be unhealthy
What is the mucogingival junction?
Where the masticatory gingiva, which is thick and keratinized, meets the lining mucosa, which is thinner and more moveable. This is visible above and below the teeth and there should be a colour difference
What is marginal gingiva/free gingiva?
The border of the gingiva surrounding the teeth in collar-like fashion. Consists of tissues from the top of the gingival margin to the base of the gingival sulcus (pocket under gingiva)
Interdental gingiva can also be called what?
Gingival papilla
What is the gingival groove?
The shallow groove that runs parallel to the margin of the unattached gingiva and marks the beginning of the attached gingiva
Where is attached gingiva?
Runs from the base of the sulcus to the mucogingival junction
What is the hard palate?
Separates the nasal cavity above from the oral cavity below. Nasal surface is covered in respiratory mucosa and oral surfaces covered in oral mucosa. Mucosa is tightly bound to the palate, so sublingual injections can be extremely uncomfortable
What is the oral cavity proper?
The area inside the dental arches
What is the incisive papilla?
Pear shaped pad of tissue that covers the incisive foramen
What is the palatal rugae?
Irregular ridges on the masticatory mucosa extending laterally from the incisive papilla
What is the palatine raphe?
The line down the middle of the hard palate, extending down from the incisive papilla
What are palatal glands?
Numerous small glands that open onto the palatal mucosa as small pits
What are torus palatinus?
Bony growth extension of the palate (benign) that occur at the midline
What is the posterior nasal spine?
The junction between the hard and soft palate at the back of the mouth
What is fovae palatina?
Landmark depressions on each side of the spine
What is the hamular process?
A bony process that comes off the Medial pterygoid plate
What are the greater and lesser palatine foramines?
An opening in the bone of the hard palate where the nerves and blood vessels innovate the hard palate
What is the soft palate?
The movable posterior third of the palate, has no bony skeleton that hangs like a limp curtain into the pharynx behind it. Can be closed off by the levator veli muscle. Ends where the uvula is
What is the palatoglossal arch?
The anterior arch, runs from the soft palate down to the lateral aspects of the tongue
What is the palatopharyngeal arch?
The posterior arch, free posterior border of the soft palate
What is the maxillary tuberosity?
Located distal to the last tooth in the maxillary arch, one on both sides
What is the retromolar pad?
A raised elevation which is considered during fabrication of lower dentures
What is the gag reflex for and where is it?
It is a protective mechanism located at the posterior region of the mouth. Includes the soft palate, faces, and posterior portion of the tongue. Contact can cause gagging, retching or vomiting
What is the tongue responsible for?
Speech, manipulation and positioning of food, sense of taste swallowing, cleansing of the oral cavity
What are the types of papilla on the tongue?
- Foliate
- filliform
- fungiform
- vallate or circumvallate
What are papilla?
Raised areas on the dorsum of the tongue that provide taste sensations made up of specialized and masticatory mucosa
What are the parts and surfaces of the tongue?
- Body (anterior 2/3 of the tongue)
- Root (posterior portion that turns downward toward the pharynx)
- Dorsal (upper and posterior roughened surface that aids in digestion)
- Ventral (underside of the tongue, mucosa has more veins, not mascatory)
- Sublingual surface (covered with smooth, transparent mucosa)
Types of papillae
- Circumvallate papillae
- Fungiform papillae
- Filiform papillae
- Foliate papillae
What are circumvallate papillae and what do they do?
V shared row of about 13 circular raised papillae. Located at the base root of the tongue. Divides the anterior 2/3 of the tongue from the posterior 1/3. Contain many tiny taste buds
What are fungiform papillae and what do they do?
Anterior 2/3 (body), tiny round raised spots on dorsal surface contain tastebuds
What are filiform papillae and what do they do?
No taste buds, tactile only, tiny pointed projections on the anterior 2/3 of the tongue. Only to aid in digestion, only found on the keratinized body of the tongue
What are foliate papillae and what do they do?
Found on the posterior lateral border of the tongue, has fewer taste buds. Clinical considerations: common location for oral cancer (lining mucosa)
What is the lingual frenum?
A thin fold of mucous membrane that extends from the floor of the mouth to the underside of the tongue
What happens if the sublingual frenum is attached too close to the tip of the tongue or if too short? (actual name)
Ankyloglossia (tongue tied)
What is the sublingual caruncle?
Small elevation on each side of the sublingual frenulum. The opening for the ducts of submandibular gland
What is the sublingual fold?
Extension of the sublingual caruncle back along the floor of the mouth, contains multiple small salivary ducts. Gland here is the sublingual gland, saliva ducts along the middle and anterior parts of the fold
What are mandibular tori? How do these affect us in the clinic?
Benign bony growths on the lingual surface of the mandible. Commonly located in the canine and premolar area. Affects impressions, x-rays and fabrication of dentures and custom x-rays
Where are the mylohyoid muscles?
In the floor of the mouth, contraction of these muscles raises the floor of the mouth and tongue
Why does calculus so readily form on the lingual side of the anterior teeth?
Because the submandibular glands are forming saliva all of the time. The saliva pools under the tongue, which contains a lot of minerals that are being extruded. These minerals take the plaque/biofilm on the teeth and harden it
