An open contact is a term used in dentistry to describe the space between adjacent teeth when the teeth are neither touching nor a sufficient distance from each other to potentially allow the space to naturally remain free of debris.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Open_contact.jpg/250px-Open_contact.jpg)
Open contacts can exist naturally, such as when teeth erupt into a nonideal occlusion or when they shift as a result of tooth loss. They are also frequently produced as a result of inadequately contoured dental restorations.[1]
An open contact may lead to a phenomenon termed food packing/food impaction, which can be a cause of pain.[2]
References
edit- ^ Section 51 - Restorative Contours Archived December 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Scully C (2013). Oral and maxillofacial medicine : the basis of diagnosis and treatment (3rd ed.). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. pp. 125–135. ISBN 978-0-7020-4948-4.