For those who enjoyed this and this,
I offer today's post.
This was a lower left 2nd molar that was mobile (loose) and had a big gummy growth on the side. Normally when I see this it is associated with the gum tissue and an abcess, either periodontal or from the tooth itself. This one, however, was not attached to the gum, but to the tooth itself and was an outgrowth of nerve tissue that had been exposed to the outer environment by decay. 9,999 times out of 10,000* exposure of the nerve results in pulpal death and abcess so this was a rare and interesting occurence.
The second picture shows the tissue curretted out of the tooth revealing live pulp underneath it.
*Totally a made up statistic, but it seems about right.
I'm not sure if I've ever seen this more than two or three times on adult teeth.
It is seen fairly often** on baby teeth.
**I'm not even going to try to make up a statistic on this one. Or even scan the literature.
It does happen often enough that I see it 10-15 times a year.
2 comments:
it's hard to comment on something like that... Umm, cool?
No comments are needed, but take my word for it, it is kinda cool. I posted in on a dental website and the folks there were a lot more excited than you seem to be!
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