Dental alveolus

Dental alveoli (singularalveolus) are sockets in thejaws in which the roots ofteeth are held in thealveolar process with theperiodontal ligament. The lay term for dental alveoli istooth sockets. Ajoint that connects the roots of the teeth and the alveolus is called agomphosis (pluralgomphoses). Alveolar bone is the bone that surrounds the roots of the teeth forming bone sockets.

Dental alveolus
Alveola of the second premolar tooth in a bovine maxillary bone
Details
Artery	Anterior superior alveolar arteries,posterior superior alveolar artery,inferior alveolar artery
Nerve	Anterior superior alveolar nerve,posterior superior alveolar nerve,inferior alveolar nerve
Identifiers
Latin	alveolus dentalis
MeSH	D020390
TA98	A03.1.03.008
FMA	57490
Anatomical terminology [edit on Wikidata]

Alveolar process of maxilla, seen from below

Inmammals, tooth sockets are found in themaxilla, thepremaxilla, and themandible.

Etymology

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1706, "a hollow", especially "the socket of a tooth", from Latin alveolus "a tray, trough, basin; bed of a small river; small hollow or cavity", diminutive of alvus "belly, stomach, paunch, bowels; hold of a ship", from PIE root *aulo- "hole, cavity" (source also of Greek aulos "flute, tube, pipe"; Serbo-Croatian, Polish, Russian ulica "street", originally "narrow opening"; Old Church Slavonic uliji, Lithuanian aulys "beehive" (hollow trunk), Armenian yli "pregnant"). The word was extended in 19c. anatomy to other small pits, sockets, or cells.

Socket preservation

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Socket preservation or alveolar ridge preservation (ARP)^[1] is a procedure to reduce bone loss aftertooth extraction to preserve the dental alveolus (tooth socket) in thealveolar bone. Aplatelet-rich fibrin (PRF)^[2] membrane containing bone growth enhancing elements can be stitched over the wound or a graft material or scaffold is placed in the socket of an extracted tooth.^[3]^[4] The socket is then directly closed with stitches or covered with a non-resorbable or resorbable membrane andsutured.^[5]