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As primary care physicians and consultants, internists are often asked to evaluate patients with disease of the oral soft tissues, teeth, and pharynx. Knowledge of the oral milieu and its unique structures is necessary to guide preventive services and recognize oral manifestations of local or systemic disease (Chap. A2). Furthermore, internists frequently collaborate with dentists in the care of patients who have a variety of medical conditions that affect oral health or who undergo dental procedures that increase their risk of medical complications.
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DISEASES OF THE TEETH AND PERIODONTAL STRUCTURES
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Tooth formation begins during the sixth week of embryonic life and continues through 17 years of age. Teeth start to develop in utero and continue to develop until after the tooth erupts. Normally, all 20 deciduous teeth have erupted by age 3 and have been shed by age 13. Permanent teeth, eventually totaling 32, begin to erupt by age 6 and have completely erupted by age 14, though third molars (“wisdom teeth”) may erupt later.
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The erupted tooth consists of the visible crown covered with enamel and the root submerged below the gum line and covered with bonelike cementum. Dentin, a material that is denser than bone and exquisitely sensitive to pain, forms the majority of the tooth substance, surrounding a core of myxomatous pulp containing the vascular and nerve supply. The tooth is held firmly in the alveolar socket by the periodontium, supporting structures that consist of the gingivae, alveolar bone, cementum, and periodontal ligament. The periodontal ligament tenaciously binds the tooth’s cementum to the alveolar bone. Above this ligament is a collar of attached gingiva just below the crown. A few millimeters of unattached or free gingiva (1–3 mm) overlap the base of the crown, forming a shallow sulcus along the gum-tooth margin.
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Dental Caries, Pulpal and Periapical Disease, and Complications
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Dental caries usually begin asymptomatically as a destructive infectious process of the enamel. Bacteria—principally Streptococcus mutans—colonize the organic buffering biofilm (plaque) on the tooth surface. If not removed by brushing or by the natural cleansing and antibacterial action of saliva, bacterial acids can demineralize the enamel. Fissures and pits on the occlusal surfaces are the most frequent sites of early decay. Surfaces between the teeth, adjacent to tooth restorations and exposed roots, are also vulnerable, particularly as individuals age. Over time, dental caries extend to the underlying dentin, leading to cavitation of the enamel. Without management, the caries will penetrate to the tooth pulp, producing acute pulpitis. At this stage, when the pulp infection is limited, the tooth may become sensitive to percussion and to hot or cold, and pain resolves immediately when the irritating stimulus is removed. Should the infection spread throughout the pulp, irreversible pulpitis occurs, leading to pulp necrosis. At this later stage, pain can be severe and has a ...