to a tooth's pulp tissue as
its "nerve." While a tooth's pulp tissue does contain nerve fibers it is also
composed of arteries, veins, lymph vessels, and connective tissue.
Where precisely in a tooth is its nerve?
Teeth are hard calcified objects but their inner aspects are not completely
solid. Inside every tooth there lies a hollow space which, when a tooth is
healthy, contains the tooth's nerve tissue. Dentists use the following terms to
refer to various portions of this nerve area.
The pulp chamber
This is a hollow space that lies more or less in the center of the tooth.
- The root canals
Each tooth's nerve enters the tooth, in general, at the very tip of its
root(s). From this entry point the nerve then runs through the center of the
root in small "root canals" which subsequently join up with the tooth's pulp
chamber.
What is the function of a tooth's nerve tissue?
You might think that a tooth's nerve tissue is vitally
important to a tooth's health and function, but in reality it's not. A tooth's
nerve tissue plays an important role in the growth and development of the tooth,
but once the tooth has erupted through the gums and has finished maturing the
nerve's only function is sensory (it provides the tooth with the ability to feel
hot and cold).
In regards to our normal day to day oral functions the sensory information
provided by a single tooth is really quite minimal. Dentists realize that on a
practical level it is pretty much academic whether a tooth has a live nerve in
it or not. If a tooth's nerve tissue is present and healthy, wonderful. But if a
tooth has had its nerve tissue removed during root canal treatment that's fine
too, you will never miss it.
