Superior dental branches of superior alveolar nerves
Rami dentales superiores nervorum alveolarium superiorum
- Related terms: Superior dental branches
Definition
The superior dental branches of superior alveolar nerves arise from the superior dental plexus to innervate the upper maxillary teeth.
The superior dental plexus is situated inside the thick alveolar process of the maxilla (i.e. the upper jaw bone), between the maxillary sinus above and the upper jaw teeth below. The plexus is formed by contributions from the superior alveolar nerves–anterior, middle and posterior. These nerves descend just outside the mucosa of the maxillary sinus, which they supply. They subsequently anastomose with each other inferior to the maxillary sinus, to form the superior dental plexus.
Here, the posterior part of the superior dental plexus, which receives contributions from the posterior superior alveolar nerve, gives off superior dental branches that help innervate the roots of maxillary molars. The middle part–receiving contributions from the middle superior alveolar nerve–gives off superior dental branches that innervate the premolars, while the anterior part–from the anterior superior alveolar nerve–sprouts superior dental branches that supply the canines and the incisors.
References
Text written by Muhammad A. Javaid, MD, PhD © 2022 IMAIOS.
Fillmore, E.P. and Seifert, M.F. (2015). ‘Chapter 22-Anatomy of the Trigeminal Nerve’, in Nerves and Nerve Injuries. Editor(s): Tubbs, R.S., Rizk, E., Shoja, M.M., Loukas, M., Barbaro, N. and Spinner, R.J. Academic Press, pp. 327-328. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-410390-0.00023-8
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