What is furcation?

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Multiple Choice

What is furcation?

Furcation is the area where a tooth that has more than one root splits into its separate roots—the space between those roots in a multi-rooted tooth. This is most noticeable on molars, which commonly have two or three roots. A tooth with a single root has no furcation. In periodontal assessment, furcation involvement refers to bone loss in that space between roots and can signal progression of disease. The other descriptions don’t fit furcation: the cusp is a crown feature on the biting surface, the space between an incisor and a canine is a diastema, and the space between enamel and dentin refers to a junction rather than a space between roots.

Furcation is the area where a tooth that has more than one root splits into its separate roots—the space between those roots in a multi-rooted tooth. This is most noticeable on molars, which commonly have two or three roots. A tooth with a single root has no furcation. In periodontal assessment, furcation involvement refers to bone loss in that space between roots and can signal progression of disease.

The other descriptions don’t fit furcation: the cusp is a crown feature on the biting surface, the space between an incisor and a canine is a diastema, and the space between enamel and dentin refers to a junction rather than a space between roots.

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