Term paper. A term paper is a research paper written by students over an academic term, accounting for a large part of a grade. Term papers are generally intended to describe an event, a concept, or argue a point.
Figure 1. Crown of the tooth. The teeth are made up of two major parts: the crown and the root. The crown of the tooth is what is visible in the mouth (Figure 1). The root of the tooth is the portion which normally not visible in the mouth and is anchored within the bone (Figure 2).
While many people are fortunate enough to have cavity resistant tooth enamel, few people have cavity resistant root surface. When gums recede below the enamel line of the tooth or pull away from the tooth, root surface is exposed. The root surface does not have a hard protective enamel covering like the crown of the tooth. This unprotected surface is very vulnerable to decay. Root caries do not occur unless the root of the tooth is exposed or there is loss of attachment of the gum to the tooth.