Monday, November 16, 2009

What would dysplasia have to do with teeth/orthodontists?

I was reading my orthodontic file and I think it said something about dysplasia... Most of the words were really confusing and I didn't understand them, the only one I remembered was dysplasia (I think). What is dysplasia, and what would it have to do with my teeth?

What would dysplasia have to do with teeth/orthodontists?
Dysplasia (from Greek, roughly: "bad form") is a term used in pathology to refer to an abnormality in maturation of cells within a tissue. This generally consists of an expansion of immature cells, with a corresponding decrease in the number and location of mature cells. Dysplasia is often indicative of an early neoplastic process. The term dysplasia is typically used when the cellular abnormality is restricted to the originating tissue, as in the case of an early, in-situ neoplasm. For example, epithelial dysplasia of the cervix (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia - a disorder commonly detected by an abnormal pap smear) consists of an increased population of immature (basal-like) cells which are restricted to the mucosal surface, and have not invaded through the basement membrane to the deeper soft tissues. Myelodysplastic syndromes, or dysplasia of blood-forming cells, show increased numbers of immature cells in the bone marrow, and a decrease in mature, functional cells in the blood.


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