Periodontal Ligament

and Alveolar Bone

Dr Yaser Abdullah
 Periodontal Ligament
Definition: It is a fibrous connective tissue which
occupies the periodontal space and is located
between the cementum and alveolar bone.
 Introduction
 - Various names have been given to the
periodontal ligament as follows: Desmodont-
Gomphosis- Pericementum - Alveolodental
ligament and Periodontal membrane.
 - Periodontal membrane and periodontal
ligament are the terms that are now commonly
used.
 - The width of periodontal ligament is not
uniform and it ranges from 0.15 – 0.21 mm.
 Introduction:
 - The region of periodontal ligament at the
alveolar crest is the widest part followed by the
apical region and the narrowest width at the
fulcrum region ( just below midroot ).
 - The periodontal ligament of the deciduous
teeth is wider than that found in the permanent
teeth.
 Development of the periodontal
ligament
It occurs after deposition of the cementum on the
external surface of the root dentin, undifferentiated
mesenchymal cells of dental sac are differentiated
into fibroblasts which form the fibers and ground
substance of the periodontal ligament where the
fibers become embedded in the developed
cementum and the alveolar bone.
 Histological structure of periodontal
ligament
It consists of the following:
1-The cells.
2-The fibers.
3-The ground substance.
4-The blood supply.
5-The lymph supply.
6-The nerve supply.
 The cells of periodontal ligament
 They are divided into:
a-Synthetic cells (formative): Fibroblasts-
Osteoblasts-Cementoblasts.
b-Resorptive cells: Osteoclasts -Cementoclasts.
c-Defensive cells: Plasma cells-Lymphocytes-Mast
cells.
d-Progenitor cells: Undifferentiated mesenchymal
cells.
e-Epithelial rests of Malassez: Remnants of
epithelial root sheath of Hertwig.
Epithelial rests of Malassez (A) B: Dental
cementum
The fibers of periodontal ligament
 They are divided into three main fibers as
follows:
A-The principal fibers.
B-The accessory fibers.
C-The oxytalan fibers.
The principal fibers of periodontal
ligament
 They are composed of collagen bundles
characterized by wavy in course and arranged in
three types as follows:
a-The gingival fibers:They attach the gingivae to
the cementum.
b-The transseptal fibers (The interdental fibers):
They connect two adjacent teeth running from
the cementum of one tooth over the alveolar
crest to the cementum of the adjacent tooth.
c-The alveolodental fibers:They attach the
cementum to the alveolar bone and their
subdivisions are →
 c-The alveolodental fibers:
i-The alveolar crest fibers:They radiate from the
alveolar crest to the cervical part of the cementum.

The alveolar crest fibers (A)

 c-The alveolodental fibers:
 ii-The horizontal fibers:They run from the
cementum to the alveolar bone at right angles to
the long axis of the tooth.

The horizontal fibers (A)

 c-The alveolodental fibers:
 iii-The oblique fibers:They run obliquely from the
alveolar bone to the cementum and their
attachment in the alveolar bone is higher than
the attachment in the cementum.They perform
the main support of the tooth against the
masticatory forces.
The oblique fibers (A)
 c-The alveolodental fibers:
 iv-The apical fibers:They radiate from the apical
region of the root to the surrounding bone.

The apical fibers (A)

 c-The alveolodental fibers:
 v-The interradicular fibers:They present only in
the multirooted teeth and radiate from the crest
of the interradicular septum to the furcation of
the multirooted tooth.

The interradicular fibers (A)

 The fibers of periodontal ligament
B-The accessory fibers : They are fibers which run
from the alveolar bone to the cementum in
different planes.They prevent rotation of the single
rooted tooth.
C-The oxytalan fibers :They are fibers which form a
complex network at the apical region and run as
one end being embedded in the alveolar bone or
cementum and the other end in the wall of blood
vessels.They play an important role in supporting
the blood vessels of periodontal ligament during
the mastication preventing the sudden closure of
the blood vessels under the masticatory forces.
The oxytalan fibers
 The ground substance of periodontal
ligament
 The spaces located between the cells, fibers,
blood vessels,lymphatic vessels and nerves
fibers of periodontal ligament are filled with
ground substance which is produced by
fibroblasts and composed of acidic
mucopolysaccharides and neutral glycoproteins.
 The blood supply of periodontal
ligament
 -The arterial blood supply of periodontal ligament is
derived from three sources are:
a-Branches from the apical vessels that supply the
dental pulp.
b-Branches from the intra-alveolar vessels that run
horizontally penetrating the alveolar bone to enter
the periodontal ligament and constitute the main
blood supply of periodontal ligament.
c-Branches from the gingival vessels that enter the
periodontal ligament from the coronal direction.
-Also the venous vessels run parallel to the arterial
vessels.
 The lymph supply of periodontal
ligament
 -A network of lymphatic vessels follows the path
of blood vessels.
 -The lymph flow is usually from the periodontal
ligament toward the adjacent alveolar bone.
 The nerve supply of periodontal
ligament
 The nerve supply of periodontal ligament comes
from either the inferior or superior alveolar
nerves. Nerve fibers of periodontal ligament are
either small or large fibers as follows:
 a-The small nerve fibers: They are
parasympathetic nerves in nature and are
responsible for pain sensation.
 b-The large nerve fibers: They are sympathetic
nerves in nature and terminate in specialized
endings known as nerve mechanoreceptors
which are responsible for localization of touch
and pressure on the teeth.
 Functions of periodontal ligament
 1- Supportive function:The periodontal ligament
provides an attachment for the tooth to the
alveolar bone permitting the tooth to withstand
the masticatory forces and preventing the tooth
from being moved too far.
 2- Sensitive function:The periodontal ligament
has the nerve mechanoreceptor which are
responsible for localization of touch or pressure
on the teeth and small nerve fibers which are
responsible for pain sensation.
 Functions of periodontal ligament
 3- Nutritive function:The blood supply of
periodontal ligament provides nutrient material
for all contents of the periodontal ligament.
 4- Formative function: It has formative cells as
follows:
 a- Fibroblasts: They are responsible for
formation the new periodontal ligament.
 b- Cementoblasts: They are responsible for
formation the new cementum.
 c- Osteoblasts: They are responsible for
formation of new alveolar bone.
 Functions of periodontal ligament
 5- Protective function: This function is achieved
by:
 a-The role of the alveolodental fibers: They
transform the exerted masticatory forces on the
teeth into tension or traction on the cementum
and alveolar bone.
 b-The role of the oxytalan fibers: They prevent
the blood to escape immediately and avoid the
pressure action before it reaches the alveolar
bone.
 c-The role of the nerve mechanoreceptors: They
 Age changes of periodontal
ligament
 1-With advanced age: the cells, blood supply and
nerve supply of the periodontal ligament are
decreased.
 2-The cementicles .
 The cementicles
 - They may be seen in the young adults due to local
trauma.
 - They are formed by dystrophic calcification of the
periodontal ligament.
 - They may be classified according to their relation
with the cementum surface into three main types as
follows:
a- Free cementicle: It presents as free in the
periodontal ligament.
b- Attached cementicle: It presents as attached to the
cementum surface.
c- Embedded cementicle: It presents as embedded
within the cementum.
 The cementicles
 -They may be classified according to the nature
of their structure into two main types as follows:
 a- True cementicle: It contains oval or round
calcified
 cementum-like structure.
 b- False cementicle: It contains degenerated
cells or hemorrhagic area.
 Alveolar Bone
Definition: It is that part of the jaw (mandible or
maxilla) which forms and supports the sockets of
the dental roots.The remaining bony part of the jaw
is called the basal bone.
 Introduction
- Bone tissue is generally composed of matrix and
mineral salts.
- Bone matrix represents an organic materials
which form about 35% of the bone composition,
while mineral salts represent an inorganic
materials which form about 65% of the bone
composition.
 Development of the alveolar bone
It starts when the deciduous tooth germs reach the
early bell stage.The bone of the maxilla and
mandible begins to grow on each side of the tooth
germ. By this growth, the tooth germs come to be
in a trough which also includes the alveolar nerves
and blood vessels. Later on, septa of bone
between the adjacent tooth germs develop,
keeping each tooth into separate bony crypt then
the alveolar bone grows at a rapid rate during the
periods of tooth eruption.
 Histological structure of the alveolar
bone
It consists of the following:
1-The alveolar bone proper.
2-The supporting alveolar bone.
3-The alveolar bone septa.
4-The alveolar bone crest.
5-The bone cells.
6-Sharpey's fibers.
7-The blood supply.
8-The lymph supply.
9-The nerve supply.
 The alveolar bone proper
It is that part of the alveolar bone which consists
of two forms of bone are:
a-The bundle bone: It forms the inner walls of the
sockets directly facing the roots of the teeth and
furnishes as medium for attachment of the
collagen fibers of the periodontal ligament to the
cementum.
b-The lamellar bone: It is located between the
bundle bone of the alveolar bone proper and the
supporting spongiosa of the supporting alveolar
bone.
 The supporting alveolar bone
It is that part of the alveolar bone which forms the
facial (labial or buccal) surface and covering the
alveolar bone proper and the alveolar bone septa.
It consists of two forms of bone are:
a- The supporting spongiosa:It is formed of
sponge bone and located between the lamellar
bone of the alveolar bone proper and the cortical
plates of the supporting alveolar bone.
b- The cortical plates: They are formed from
compact bone.
 The alveolar bone septa
It is that part of the alveolar bone which is
separated between the facial surface and lingual
surface of it including:
a-Interdental septa: It is located between the
adjacent teeth.
b-Interradicular septa: It is located between the
roots of the multirooted teeth.
 The alveolar bone crest
It is that part of the alveolar bone which forms the
fusion area between the alveolar bone proper and
the supporting alveolar bone, and lies at about 1.5
– 2 mm. below the cementenamel junction of
mandibular teeth or above the cementenamel
junction of maxillary teeth.
 Alveolar bone crest (A)
B: Periodontal ligament. C: Dental cementum
 The bone cells
The bone cells involve four main types as follows:
a-Osteoprogenitor cells:They are derived from
undifferentiated mesenchymal cells.They appear
as spindle shaped mononucleated cells with pale
cytoplasm and flat nuclei.They give rise to
osteoblasts and osteoclasts.
b-Osteoblasts: They appear as small oval
mononucleated cells with deeply basophilic
cytoblasm and round nuclei.They are located on
the bone surface and are responsible for bone
formation and growth.
Osteoblasts
 The bone cells
c-Osteocytes:They are osteoblasts which are
trapped in the bone tissue located in spaces called
lacunae. They
appear as small flat mononucleated cells with less
basophilic cytoplasm and flat nuclei. They produce
components needed to maintain the bone matrix.

Osteocytes
 The bone cells
d-Osteoclasts: They appear as large irregular
multinucleated cells with acidophilic cytoplasm
and round nuclei. They are responsible for bone
resorption and located on the surface of bone
tissue where resorption is taking place in a bay-like
depressions called Howship's lacunae.

Osteoclasts
 The bone cells
6-Sharpey's fibers :They are the endings of the principle
fibers of periodontal ligament which are continuous and
attaching more firmly into the alveolar bone.
7-The blood supply of the alveolar bone: -The arterial blood
supply of the alveolar bone is derived from either superior
or inferior alveolar arteries.
-Also the venous vessels run parallel to the arterial vessels.
8-The lymph supply of the alveolar bone : -A network of
lymphatic vessels follows the path of blood vessels.
-The lymph flow is usually from the alveolar bone toward
the
submandibular lymph nodes.
9-The nerve supply of the alveolar bone :The nerve supply
of the alveolar bone comes from either the mandibular or
 Functions of the alveolar bone
The alveolar bone has the following functions:
1- Supportive function: It furnishes a medium for the
attachment of collagen fibers of the periodontal ligament
to the cementum.
2- Sensitive function: The alveolar bone has the nerve fibers,
so it
is sensitive.
3- Nutritive function: The blood supply of the alveolar bone
provides nutrient material for all contents of the alveolar
bone.
4- Formative function: It has formative cells such as
osteoblasts
which are responsible for formation of new alveolar bone.
 Age changes of the alveolar bone
1-Decrease in the water content of the bone that leads to
its
brittleness.
2-The supporting spongiosa shows thinning of its
trabeculae and
widening of the marrow spaces.
3-The red bone marrow in the marrow spaces of the
supporting
spongiosa will be transformed into fatty marrow except
certain
areas are:
a-The condylar head.
b-The angle of the mandible.
 Age changes of the alveolar bone
4-Consequent to the proximal attrition of the teeth leads to
incline
the teeth mesially resulting in distal sloping of the alveolar
bone
crest and these changes are more pronounced in the
premolars
and molars areas.
5-With loss of the teeth ,the alveolar bone is resorbed due
to the
exerted pressure upon the alveolar bone through the
gingivae.
THANK YOU