This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Gingival fibers is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
The gingival fibers are the connective tissue fibers that attach a tooth to the gingival tissue.[1] They are primarily composed to type I collagen, although type III fibers are also involved.
These fibers, unlike the fibers of the periodontal ligament, in general, attach the tooth to the gingival tissue, rather than from the tooth to the alveolar bone.
Contents |
Functions of the gingival fibers
The gingival fibers accomplish the following tasks:[2]
- They hold the marginal gingiva against the tooth
- They provide the marginal gingiva with enough rigidity to withstand the forces of mastication without distorting
- They serve to stabilize the marginal gingiva by uniting it with both the tissue of the more rigid attached gingiva as well as the cementum layer of the tooth.
Gingival fibers and periodontitis
In theory, gingival fibers are the protectors against periodontitis, as once they are breached, they cannot be regenerated. When destroyed, the gingival sulcus (labelled G in the diagram) increases in depth apically, allowing more debris and bacteria to remain in intimate contacts with the delicate sulcular and junctional epithelia for longer times.
Types of gingival fibers
There are three groups within which gingival fibers are arranged:
- dentogingival group - there are three types of fibers within this group:
- fibers that extend towards the crest of the gingiva
- fibers that extend laterally to the outer surface of the gingiva and
- fibers that extend outward, past the height of the alveolar crest, and then downward along the cortex of the alveolar bone.
- circular group - these fibers are unique in that they exist entirely within the gingiva and do not contact the tooth
- transseptal group - these fibers have traditionally been described as spanning the interproximal tissue between adjacent teeth, into which they are embedded.[3] However, two other types of fibers have been described in this group:[4]
- semicircular fibers - fibers that run through the facial and lingual gingiva around each tooth, attaching to the interproximal surfaces of the same tooth.
- transgingival fibers - fibers that run between two non-adjacent teeth and are embedded in the cementum of their proximal surfaces, passing around the tooth in the middle of the two teeth attached with these fibers.
References
- ^ Carranza's Clinical Periodontoloty, 9th Ed., W.B. Saunders, 2002, page 26.
- ^ Carranza's Clinical Periodontoloty, 9th Ed., W.B. Saunders, 2002, page 26.
- ^ Carranza's Clinical Periodontoloty, 9th Ed., W.B. Saunders, 2002, page 27.
- ^ Page, RC, "Collagen fiber bundles of the normal marginal gingiva in the marmoset, Archs Oral Biol, 1972, 19:1039.
 |
This dentistry article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 25 September 2008, at 11:14.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Gingival fibers".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.