Lingual Surface of Maxillary Third Molar Tooth

Description

The lingual (palatal) surface is the aspect of the maxillary third molar tooth that faces towards the tongue and oral cavity. It is one of five surfaces of the crown of the tooth, the other four being the buccal, mesial, distal, and occlusal surfaces.

The lingual surface meets the:

- mesial surface at the mesiolingual angle;

- distal surface at the distolingual angle;

- occlusal surface at the linguoocclusal angle.

For descriptive purposes, the lingual surface of a maxillary tooth can be divided by two horizontal lines into three portions. In a superior to inferior direction, these are the:

- cervical third;

- middle third;

- occlusal third.

Furthermore, the lingual surface of a tooth can also be divided by two vertical lines into three portions. In a mesial to distal direction, these are the:

- mesial third;

- middle third;

- distal third.