Radiographic findings

Question 1

What are the important landmarks in reviewing an individual tooth?

Answer 1

Enamel
Dentin
Pulp chamber
Periodontal ligament space
Alveolar bone

Question 2

In the young patient the dental wall is _______ and the pulp chamber is _______?

Answer 2

Thin

Large

Question 3

What produces dentin?

Answer 3

Odontoblasts

Question 4

As the tooth develops what happens to the dentin?

Answer 4

Dentin thickens the dentinal wall and reduces the size of the pulp canal

Question 5

What may be open depending on the age of the patient?

Answer 5

The apex

Question 6

In the young patient, what appears radiographically as a distinct, opaque, uninterrupted, white line parallel to the tooth root?

Answer 6

The dense cortical alveolar bone forming the wall of the socket

Question 7

What is the white line parallel to the tooth root known as?

Answer 7

The lamina dura

Question 8

The lamina dura is a radiographic term referring to what?

Answer 8

The dense cortical bone forming the wall of the alveolus

Question 9

What is the radiolucent image between the lamina dura and tooth?

Answer 9

The periodontal space or the lamina lucida

Question 10

The dental radiograph of a healthy adult shows what?

Answer 10

A decreased canal size and increased dentinal wall thickness

Question 11

What becomes narrower with age until it disappears?

Answer 11

The lamina lucida

Question 12

The apex is present but what is not usually seen?

Answer 12

The apical delta or apical foramen

Question 13

Thinning of what may occur in older patients?

Answer 13

The alveolar crest

Question 14

What do signs of periodontal disease look like on radiographs?

Answer 14

Rounding and loss of the alveolar crest

Question 15

Signs of periodontal disease are particularly visible where?

Answer 15

Between the teeth in the interproximal space as well as in the furcations

Question 16

What is the interproximal space?

Answer 16

The area between adjacent surfaces of adjoining teeth

Question 17

Periodontal disease may also be noted as _______ bone loss?

Answer 17

Horizontal

Question 18

What is evident if vertical bone loss has occurred?

Answer 18

Increased periodontal ligament space

Question 19

What are the signs of endodontic disease?

Answer 19

Lucency around the apex of the tooth root
Resorption of the tooth root internally
Resorption of the tooth root externally

Question 20

Where are fractures noted?

Answer 20

Above or below the gumline

Question 21

Where does bacteria travel?

Answer 21

Enters the pulp chamber, then root canal, and progress into the periapical tissue

Question 22

What is it called when bacteria is present in the periapical tissue?

Answer 22

Periapical lucency or apical periodontitis

Question 23

What is an inflammatory process of the periapical tissues in response to endodontic infection?

Answer 23

Apical periodontitis

Question 24

What are the radiographic signs of a tooth resorption?

Answer 24

It ranges from a barely visible coronal lucency to resorption of the entire root

Question 25

What do retained roots look like on radiographs?

Answer 25

The presence of lucency around the root may indicate disease that needs to be treated

Question 26

What are the hallmark radiographic signs of neoplasia?

Answer 26

Proliferation of bone, missing bone and or displacement of the teeth

Question 27

What is a very common problem for practitioner?

Answer 27

Distinguishing the chevron sign around the apex from pathology

Question 28

What does a normal chevron sign look like?

Answer 28

Fairly distinct with sharp demarcation between the chevron sign that represents the area that vessels and nerves are entering the apex and bone

Question 29

What does pathologic apical periodontitis or periapical lucency or periapical abscess look like?

Answer 29

Less distinct than the normal chevron sign

Question 30

Tooth resorption often appears as fractured roots where?

Answer 30

At the intersection of the resorption and normal root