furcation

They are found usually in the area between roots, which is called a furcation, of molars.

For this reason surgical periodontal treatment may be considered to allow vision and access to the furcation.

Class I - Furcation defect is less than 3 mm is depth.

As a result, the floor of the pulp and the furcation of the tooth is moved apically down the root.

The furcation defect is thus a cul-de-sac.

In 1953, Irving Glickman graded furcation involvement into the following four classes:

In early grade III lesions, soft tissue may still occlude the furcation involvement, though, making it difficult to detect.

He was one of the first to classify furcation defects and the role of occlusal trauma on periodontal disease.

The most common location of enamel pearl is the furcation areas of the maxillary and mandibular third molar roots.

Discharge of pus, involvement of the root furcation area and deeper pocketing may all indicate reduced prognosis for an individual tooth.

Unlike the previous two mentioned, the Naber's probe is curved and is used for measuring into the furcation area between the roots of a tooth.

Grade III - Bone is no longer attached to the furcation of the tooth, essentially resulting in a through-and-through tunnel.

Grade I - Incipient furcation involvement, with any associated pocketing remaining coronal to the alveolar bone; primarily affects the soft tissue.

In 2000, Fedi, et al. modified Glickman's classification to include two degrees of a grade II furcation defect:

A tooth with a furcation defect has typically reduced prognosis owing to the difficulty of rendering the furcation area free from periodontal pathogens.

In dentistry, a furcation defect is bone loss, usually a result of periodontal disease, affecting the base of the root trunk of a tooth where two or more roots meet.

In 1975, Sven-Erik Hamp, together with Lindhe and Sture Nyman, classified furcation defects by their probeable depth.

Class III - Furcation defect encompassing the entire width of the tooth so that no bone is attached to the angle of the furcation.

The probing depth and methods affects the success of the procedure, and factors like root grooves, concavities, and furcation involvement may limit visibility of underlying deep calculus and debris.

The species name is derived from the Greek akron (meaning tip, end) and dikros (meaning forked, cloven) in reference to the small, apical furcation of the caudal lobe of the male gnathos.

The underlying mechanism of taurodontism is the failure or late invagination of Hertwig's epithelial root sheath, which is responsible for root formation and shaping causing an apical shift of the root furcation.

Because of an angle in this tunnel, however, the furcation may not be able to be probed in its entirety; if cumulative measurements from different sides equal or exceed the width of the tooth, however, a grade III defect may be assumed.

Because of its importance in the assessment of periodontal disease, a number of methods of classification have evolved to measure and record the severity of furcation involvement; most of the indices are based on horizontal measurements of attachment loss in the furcation.

Class II - Furcation defect is at least 3 mm in depth (and thus, in general, surpassing half of the buccolingual thickness of the tooth) but not through-and-through (i.e. there is still some interradicular bone attached to the angle of the furcation.