Apical foramen

Apical foramen
Apical foramina on a wisdom tooth
Details
Latin	foramen apicis dentis
Identifiers
TA
TH	{{#property:P1694}}
TE	{{#property:P1693}}
FMA	{{#property:P1402}}
Anatomical terminology [[[d:|edit on Wikidata]]]

1. Tooth 2. Enamel 3. Dentin 4. Dental pulp ::5. cameral pulp ::6. root pulp :7. Cementum :8. Crown ::9. Cusp ::10. Sulcus :11. Neck :12. Root ::13. Furcation ::14. Root apex :::15. Apical foramen 16. Gingival sulcus
17. Periodontium
 :18. Gingiva: ::19. free or interdental ::20. marginal ::21. alveolar :22. Periodontal ligament :23. Alveolar bone 24. Vessels and nerves: :25. dental :26. periodontal :27. alveolar through channel

In anatomy the apical foramen is the opening at the apex of the root of a tooth, through which the nerve and blood vessels that supply the dental pulp pass. Thus it represents the junction of the pulp and the periodontal tissue.

It is a point of interest in endodontics, as it is considered necessary to thoroughly chemomechanically debride the pulp space to remove all necrotic tissue and minimise bacterial load in the pulp space. Ideally this debridement would terminate exactly at the apical foramen. In reality determining the exact position of the apical foramen is problematic, requiring radiography and/or use of an electronic apex locator to produce a refined estimate. A tooth may have multiple small accessory canals in the root apex area forming an apical delta which can complicate the endodontic problem.

An apical constriction is often present. In immature teeth the root is not fully formed leading to an open apex. This is also seen in some pathological teeth.

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

• Color Atlas and Textbook of Oral Anatomy, Histology, and Embryology by B. K. Berkovitz, G. R. Holland, B. J. Moxham. Hardcover, Mosby, ISBN 0-8151-0697-1