Apical periodontitis
| Periapical periodontitis | |
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| Periapical dental radiograph showing chronic periapical periodontitis on the root of the left maxillary second premolar. Note large restoration present in the tooth, which will have undergone pulpal necrosis at some point before the development of this lesion. | |
| Classification and external resources | |
| Specialty | gastroenterology |
| ICD-10 | K04.4 ("Acute apical periodontitis of pulpal origin"), K04.5 ("Chronic periapical periodontitis"). |
Periapical periodontitis (also termed apical periodontitis, AP, or periradicular periodontitis) is an acute or chronic inflammatory lesion around the apex of a tooth root which is caused by bacterial invasion of the pulp of the tooth. The term is derived from peri- meaning "around", apical referring to the apex of the root (the tip of the root), and -itis meaning a disease characterized by inflammation. Periapical periodontitis can be considered a sequela in the natural history of dental caries (tooth decay), irreversible pulpitis and pulpal necrosis, since it is the likely outcome of untreated dental caries, although not always. Periapical periodontitis may develop into a periapical abscess, where a collection of pus forms at the end of the root, the consequence of spread of infection from the tooth pulp (odontogenic infection), or into a periapical cyst, where an epithelial lined, fluid filled structure forms.
The radiographic features of periapical inflammatory lesions vary depending on the time course of the lesion. Because very early lesions may not show any radiographic changes, diagnosis of these lesions relies solely on the clinical symptoms . More chronic lesions may show lytic (radiolucent) or sclerotic (radiopaque) changes, or both.
The type of periapical periodontitis is usually classified according to whether it is an acute/symptomatic process or a chronic/asymptomatic process.
Acute periapical periodontitis, also termed acute apical periodontitis, acute periradicular periodontitis, or symptomatic periapical periodontitis.
Chronic periapical periodontitis, also termed chronic apical periodontitis, chronic periradicular periodontitis, or assymptomatic periapical periodontitis
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