Radiographic findings Flashcards
What are the important landmarks in reviewing an individual tooth?
Enamel Dentin Pulp chamber Periodontal ligament space Alveolar bone
In the young patient the dental wall is _______ and the pulp chamber is _______?
Thin
Large
What produces dentin?
Odontoblasts
As the tooth develops what happens to the dentin?
Dentin thickens the dentinal wall and reduces the size of the pulp canal
What may be open depending on the age of the patient?
The apex
In the young patient, what appears radiographically as a distinct, opaque, uninterrupted, white line parallel to the tooth root?
The dense cortical alveolar bone forming the wall of the socket
What is the white line parallel to the tooth root known as?
The lamina dura
The lamina dura is a radiographic term referring to what?
The dense cortical bone forming the wall of the alveolus
What is the radiolucent image between the lamina dura and tooth?
The periodontal space or the lamina lucida
The dental radiograph of a healthy adult shows what?
A decreased canal size and increased dentinal wall thickness
What becomes narrower with age until it disappears?
The lamina lucida
The apex is present but what is not usually seen?
The apical delta or apical foramen
Thinning of what may occur in older patients?
The alveolar crest
What do signs of periodontal disease look like on radiographs?
Rounding and loss of the alveolar crest
Signs of periodontal disease are particularly visible where?
Between the teeth in the interproximal space as well as in the furcations
What is the interproximal space?
The area between adjacent surfaces of adjoining teeth
Periodontal disease may also be noted as _______ bone loss?
Horizontal
What is evident if vertical bone loss has occurred?
Increased periodontal ligament space
What are the signs of endodontic disease?
Lucency around the apex of the tooth root
Resorption of the tooth root internally
Resorption of the tooth root externally
Where are fractures noted?
Above or below the gumline
Where does bacteria travel?
Enters the pulp chamber, then root canal, and progress into the periapical tissue
What is it called when bacteria is present in the periapical tissue?
Periapical lucency or apical periodontitis
What is an inflammatory process of the periapical tissues in response to endodontic infection?
Apical periodontitis
What are the radiographic signs of a tooth resorption?
It ranges from a barely visible coronal lucency to resorption of the entire root
What do retained roots look like on radiographs?
The presence of lucency around the root may indicate disease that needs to be treated
What are the hallmark radiographic signs of neoplasia?
Proliferation of bone, missing bone and or displacement of the teeth
What is a very common problem for practitioner?
Distinguishing the chevron sign around the apex from pathology
What does a normal chevron sign look like?
Fairly distinct with sharp demarcation between the chevron sign that represents the area that vessels and nerves are entering the apex and bone
What does pathologic apical periodontitis or periapical lucency or periapical abscess look like?
Less distinct than the normal chevron sign
Tooth resorption often appears as fractured roots where?
At the intersection of the resorption and normal root
