Meaning & use
pulp cavity
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablemedical
The hollow space inside a tooth that holds the soft tissue, including nerves and blood vessels.
Grammar: A countable noun, normally singular for one tooth: the pulp cavity of a tooth.
Patterns
- the pulp cavity of something
- inside the pulp cavity
Decay that reaches the pulp cavity usually causes severe pain.
The dentist cleaned the pulp cavity before sealing the tooth.
X-rays show the pulp cavity as a dark space in the center of each tooth.
Word forms
| plural | pulp cavities |
|---|
Common combinations
- infected pulp cavity
- An infected pulp cavity may need a root canal.
- reach the pulp cavity
- If decay reaches the pulp cavity, the nerve can be damaged.
- clean the pulp cavity
- The dentist will clean the pulp cavity thoroughly.
- seal the pulp cavity
- After treatment, the dentist will seal the pulp cavity.
- pulp cavity and root canals
- The pulp cavity and root canals contain the tooth's nerve supply.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pulp chamber
- Pulp chamber usually names only the part in the crown of the tooth, while pulp cavity covers the whole hollow.
- dental pulp space
- Dental pulp space is a more clinical phrase and is rarely used outside professional writing.
Word family
Commonly confused: pulp cavity or cavity? pulp cavity or root canal?
pulp cavity vs cavity
In everyday talk a cavity is a hole made by decay in a tooth, but the pulp cavity is a normal, healthy space inside it.
pulp cavity vs root canal
A root canal is the narrow channel running down each root from the pulp cavity, and it is also the name of the treatment.
Practice
What is found inside the pulp cavity of a tooth?
Choose one answer.
The pulp cavity holds soft tissue, nerves and blood vessels. Enamel and dentine are hard layers around it, and gum tissue is outside the tooth.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pulp cavity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.