dentin

den·tin   (děn'tĭn)    n.  The main, calcareous part of a tooth, beneath the enamel and surrounding the pulp chamber and root canals. den'tin·al (děn'tə-nəl, děn-tē'-) adj.

dentin

The hard, bony material beneath the enamel of a tooth. The bulk of a tooth is made up of dentin.

Main Entry: den·tin
Pronunciation: 'dent-^&n
Variant: or den·tine /'den-"tEn, den-'tEn/
Function: noun
: a calcareous material similar to bone but harder and denser that composes the principal mass of a tooth, is formed by the odontoblasts of the surface of the dental papilla, and consists of amatrix containing minute parallel tubules which open into the pulp cavity and during life contain processes of the cells of the pulp —compare CEMENTUM, ENAMEL —den·tin·al /'dent-^&n-&l;'den-"tEn-^&l, den-'/ adjective

dentin den·tin (děn'tĭn) or den·tine (-tēn')
n.
The main, calcareous part of a tooth, beneath the enamel and surrounding the pulp chamber and root canals.

dentin   (děn'tĭn)  Pronunciation Key  The main bony part of a tooth beneath the enamel, surrounding the pulp chamber and root canals.

dentin

in anatomy, the yellowish tissue that makes up the bulk of all teeth. It is harder than bone but softer than enamel and consists mainly of apatite crystals of calcium and phosphate. In humans, other mammals, and the elasmobranch fishes (e.g., sharks, rays), a layer of dentine-producing cells, odontoblasts, line the pulp cavity of the tooth (or, in the case of sharks, the toothlike scale) and send projections into the calcified material of the dentine; these projections are enclosed in tubules. Sensitivity to pain, pressure, and temperature is transmitted via the odontoblastic extensions in the tubules to and from the nerve in the pulp chamber. Secondary dentine, a less well-organized form of tubular dentine, is produced throughout life as a patching material where cavities have begun, where the overlying enamel has been worn away, and within the pulp chamber as part of the aging process.

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