<P> The junctional epithelium , a nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithelium , lies immediately apical to the sulcular epithelium , which lines the gingival sulcus from the base to the free gingival margin , where it interfaces with the epithelium of the oral cavity. The gingival sulcus is bounded by the enamel of the crown of the tooth and the sulcular epithelium . Immediately apical to the base of the pocket , and coronal to the most coronal of the gingival fibers is the junctional epithelium . The JE attaches to the surface of the tooth by way of the EA with hemidesmosomes and is , on average , roughly 1 mm in width in the apico - coronal dimension , constituting about one half of the biologic width . The attachment of the JE to the tooth surface can occur on enamel , cementum , or dentin . The position of the EA on the tooth surface is initially on the cervical half of the anatomical crown when the tooth first becomes functional after tooth eruption . </P>
the junctional epithelium once it has migrated apically attaches to the cementum by means of
hemidesmosomes