Pulp Chamber

The dental pulp is the soft tissue of the tooth. The chamber containing the dental pulp that underlies, and is connected to, the dentin layer is called the pulp chamber. It contains the coronal pulp within the crown that is continuous with the radicular pulp within the root. Pulp contains odontoblasts, cells whose biological function is the creation of dentin.⁷ It also contains neurons, vascular tissues, fibroblasts and macrophages. (It was long thought that pulp contained lymphatic vessels but a 2010 immuno-histochemical staining study found that, under normal conditions, dental pulp does not contain true lymphatic vessels.)⁸ A recent 2022 study found a moderate correlation between pulp inflammation and the formation of new blood and lymphatic vessels.⁹

One area of note is the apical foramen at the end of the radicular pulp. Blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissue pass through this area to reach the interior of the tooth.

Figure 5. Pulp Chamber

Figure 5. Pulp Chamber