Compensating curvatures of the individual teeth.

- the gentle curvature of the long axes of certain posterior teeth to exhibit a gentle curvature.

-These are probably analogous to the trabecular patterns seen in the femur and therefore reflect lines of stress experienced during function.

Posteruptive tooth movement.

These movements occur after eruption of the teeth into function in the oral cavity. These movements, known collectively as occlusomesial forces.

A. Continuous tooth eruption eruption of teeth after coming into occlusion. This process compensates for occlusal tooth wear.. Cementum deposition and progressive remodelling of the alveolar bone are the growth processes that provide for continuous tooth movement

B. Physiological mesial drift :Tthe tendency of permanent posterior teeth to migrate mesially in the dental arch both before and after they come into occlusion. Clinically, it compensates for proximal tooth wear.

(1) It describes the tendency of posterior teeth to move anteriorly.

(2) It applies to permanent teeth, not deciduous teeth.

(3) The distal tooth have the stronger is the tendency for drift.

(4) It compensates for proximal wear.

(5) In younger persons, teeth drift bodily; in older persons, they tip and rotate.

(6) Forces that cause it include occlusal forces, PDL contraction, and soft tissue pressures. There may be other more subtle factors as well.

Height  of Epithelial Attachment

The height of normal gingival tissue . mesiallv and distallv on approximating teeth, is directly dependent upon the height of the epithelial attachment on these teeth. Normal attachment follows the curvature of the cementoenamel junction if the teeth are jn proper, alignment and contact.

MANDIBULAR CUSPIDS

Mandibular canines are those lower teeth that articulate with the mesial aspect of the upper canine.

Facial: The mandibular canine is noticeably narrower mesidistally than the upper, but the root may be as long as that of the upper canine. In an individual person,the lower canine is often shorter than that of the upper canine. The mandibular canine is wider mesiodistally than either lower incisor. A distinctive feature is the nearly straight outline of the mesial aspect of the crown and root. When the tooth is unworn, the mesial cusp ridge appears as a sort of 'shoulder' on the tooth. The mesial cusp ridge is much shorter than the distal cusp ridge.

Lingual: The marginal ridges and cingulum are less prominent than those of the maxillary canine. The lingual surface is smooth and regular. The lingual ridge, if present, is usually rather subtle in its expression.

Proximal: The mesial and distal aspects present a triangular outline. The cingulum as noted is less well developed. When the crown and root are viewed from the proximal, this tooth uniquely presents a crescent-like profile similar to a cashew nut.

Incisal: The mesiodistal dimension is clearly less than the labiolingual dimension. The mesial and distal 'halves' of the tooth are more identical than the upper canine from this perspective. In the mandibular canine, the unworn incisal edge is on the line through the long axis of this tooth.

MAXILLARY SECOND BICUSPID

smaller in dimensions. The cusps are not as sharp as the maxillary first bicuspid and have only one root.

Facial: This tooth closely resembles the maxillary first premolar but is a less defined copy of its companion to the mesial. The buccal cusp is shorter, less pointed, and more rounded than the first.

Lingual: Again, this tooth resembles the first. The lingual cusp, however, is more nearly as large as the buccal cusp.

Proximal: Mesial and distal surfaces are rounded. The mesial developmental depression and mesial marginal ridge are not present on the second premolar.

Occlusal: The crown outline is rounded, ovoid, and is less clearly defined than is the first.

Contact Points; When viewed from the facial, the distal contact area is located more cervically than is the mesial contact area.

Gingiva

The connection between the gingiva and the tooth is called the dentogingival junction. This junction has three epithelial types: gingival, sulcular, and junctional epithelium. These three types form from a mass of epithelial cells known as the epithelial cuff between the tooth and the mouth.

Much about gingival formation is not fully understood, but it is known that hemidesmosomes form between the gingival epithelium and the tooth and are responsible for the primary epithelial attachment. Hemidesmosomes provide anchorage between cells through small filament-like structures provided by the remnants of ameloblasts. Once this occurs, junctional epithelium forms from reduced enamel epithelium, one of the products of the enamel organ, and divides rapidly. This results in the perpetually increasing size of the junctional epithelial layer and the isolation of the remenants of ameloblasts from any source of nutrition. As the ameloblasts degenerate, a gingival sulcus is created.

MANDIBULAR SECOND BICUSPID

Facial: From this aspect, the tooth somewhat resembles the first, but the buccal cusp is less pronounced. The tooth is larger than the first.

Lingual: Two significant variations are seen in this view. The most common is the three-cusp form which has two lingual cusps. The mesial of those is the larger of the two. The other form is the two-cusp for with a single lingual cusp. In that variant, the lingual cusp tip is shifted to the mesial.

Proximal: The buccal cusp is shorter than the first. The lingual cusp (or cusps) are much better developed than the first and give the lingual a full, well-developed profile.

Occlusal: The two or three cusp versions become clearly evident. In the three-cusp version, the developmental grooves present a distinctive 'Y' shape and have a central pit. In the two cusp version, a single developmental groove crosses the transverse ridge from mesial to distal

Contact Points; Height of Curvature: From the facial, the mesial contact is more occlusal than the distal contact.The distal marginal ridge is lower than the mesial marginal ridge

Root Surface:-The root of the tooth is single, that is usually larger than that of the first premolar  

the lower second premolar is larger than the first, while the upper first premolar is just slightly larger than the upper second

There may be one or two lingual cusps

Abnormalities

There are a number of tooth abnormalities relating to development.

Anodontia is a complete lack of tooth development, and hypodontia is a lack of some tooth development. Anodontia is rare, most often occurring in a condition called hipohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, while hypodontia is one of the most common developmental abnormalities, affecting 3.5–8.0% of the population (not including third molars). The absence of third molars is very common, occurring in 20–23% of the population, followed in prevalence by the second premolar and lateral incisor. Hypodontia is often associated with the absence of a dental lamina, which is vulnerable to environmental forces, such as infection and chemotherapy medications, and is also associated with many syndromes, such as Down syndrome and Crouzon syndrome.

Hyperdontia is the development of extraneous teeth. It occurs in 1–3% of Caucasians and is more frequent in Asians. About 86% of these cases involve a single extra tooth in the mouth, most commonly found in the maxilla, where the incisors are located. Hyperdontia is believed to be associated with an excess of dental lamina.

Dilaceration is an abnormal bend found on a tooth, and is nearly always associated with trauma that moves the developing tooth bud. As a tooth is forming, a force can move the tooth from its original position, leaving the rest of the tooth to form at an abnormal angle. Cysts or tumors adjacent to a tooth bud are forces known to cause dilaceration, as are primary (baby) teeth pushed upward by trauma into the gingiva where it moves the tooth bud of the permanent tooth.

Regional odontodysplasia is rare, but is most likely to occur in the maxilla and anterior teeth. The cause is unknown; a number of causes have been postulated, including a disturbance in the neural crest cells, infection, radiation therapy, and a decrease in vascular supply (the most widely held hypothesis).Teeth affected by regional odontodysplasia never erupt into the mouth, have small crowns, are yellow-brown, and have irregular shapes. The appearance of these teeth in radiographs is translucent and "wispy," resulting in the nickname "ghost teeth"