Junctional epithelium

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In dental anatomy, the junctional epithelium (JE) is that epithelium which lies at, and in health also defines, the base of the gingival sulcus (i.e. where the gums attach to a tooth). The probing depth of the gingival sulcus is measured by a calibrated periodontal probe. In a healthy-case scenario, the probe is gently inserted, slides by the sulcular epithelium (SE), and is stopped by the epithelial attachment (EA). However, the probing depth of the gingival sulcus may be considerably different from the true histological gingival sulcus depth.