| |  | | | | | Abscess: A collection of pus in a cavity formed within the tissues of the body.
Abutment: A tooth or implant used to support a prosthesis.
Alveolar: Referring to the bone to which a tooth is attached.
Amalgam: An alloy used in direct dental restorations.
Analgesia: Loss of pain sensations without loss of consciousness.
Anesthesia: The loss of pain sensation over a specific area of the anatomy without loss of consciousness.
Anterior: Refers to the teeth and tissues located toward the front of the mouth; maxillary and mandibular incisors and canines.
Apex: The tip or end of the root end of the tooth.
Avulsion: Separation of tooth from its socket due to trauma (evulsion).
Baby Bottle Tooth Decay: Cavities caused by putting a child to bed with a bottle of milk or juice, which allows bacteria to attack the child’s teeth overnight. Reduce the child’s risk by allowing only bottles of water at bedtime.
Bicuspid: Any of eight permanent teeth with two-pointed crowns or cusps. Also called pre-molars, because they are found just before the big molars in the back of the mouth.
Bilateral: Occurring on, or pertaining to, both right and left sides.
Biopsy: Process of removing tissue for histologic evaluation.
Bonding: Process by which two or more components are made integral by mechanical and/or chemical adhesion at their interface.
Calculus: Tartar, a hard deposit of mineralized material adhering to crowns and/or roots of teeth.
Canal: A relatively narrow tubular passage or channel;
Root canal – Space inside the root portion of a tooth containing pulp tissue;
Mandibular canal – The passage which transmits vessels and nerves through the jaw to branches that distribute them to the teeth.
Canine: One of the four sharp-pointed teeth between the incisors and the bicuspids; also called cuspids.
Caries: A disease of the calcified tissue of the teeth resulting from the action of microorganisms on carbohydrates, characterized by a decalcification of the inorganic portions of the tooth and accompanied or followed by disintegration of the organic portion; cavities. Common term for tooth decay.
Cavity: See caries.
CDT: Certified Dental Technician
Cement base: Material used under a filling to replace lost tooth structure.
Cementum: A bonelike substance covering the root of each tooth and helps to attach each tooth to the jaw.
Cleft palate: Congenital deformity resulting in lack of fusion of the soft and/or hard palate, either partial or complete.
Composite: A dental restorative material made up of disparate or separate parts (e.g., resin and quartz particles).
Crown: That portion of the tooth that is covered with enamel and projects from the gum tissues in which the root is fixed.
Curettage: Scraping and cleaning the walls of a cavity or gingival pocket.
Cusp: Pointed or round crown of the tooth.
Cuspid: One of the four sharp-pointed teeth between the incisors and the bicuspids; also called canines.
Cyst: Pathological cavity, usually lined with epithelium, containing fluid or soft matter.
Decay: The lay term for carious lesions in a tooth; decomposition of tooth structure.
Dentin: The hard substance that forms the body of the tooth.
Denture: An artificial substitute for natural teeth and adjacent tissues.
Diagnostic cast: Plaster or stone model of teeth and adjoining tissues; also referred to as study model.
Enamel: The hard covering that forms the outer surface of the crown of the tooth.
Endodontist: A dentist who specializes in root canal treatment.
Evulsion: Complete separation of the tooth from its socket due to trauma (avulsion).
Excision: Surgical removal of bone or tissue.
Filling: A lay term used for the restoring of lost tooth structure by using materials such as metal, alloy, plastic or porcelain.
Fracture: The breaking of a part, especially of a bony structure; breaking of a tooth.
Gingiva: Soft tissues overlying the crowns of unerupted teeth and encircling the necks of those that have erupted.
Gingivitis: Inflammation of gingival tissue without loss of connective tissue.
Hygienist: The person who is usually responsible for the preventive dentistry program; licensed to perform scaling and cleaning of teeth.
Impacted tooth: An unerupted or partially erupted tooth that is positioned against another tooth, bone, or soft tissue so that complete eruption is unlikely.
Implantation, tooth: Placement of an artificial or natural tooth into an alveolus.
Implantologist: A dentist who specializes in placing and restoring dental implants.
Incisor: Any of the front cutting teeth between the cuspids in either jaw.
Indirect pulp cap: Procedure in which the nearly exposed pulp is covered with a protective dressing to protect the pulp from additional injury and to promote healing and repair via formation of secondary dentin.
Lesion: An injury or wound; area of diseased tissue.
Malocclusion: Improper alignment of biting or chewing surfaces of upper and lower teeth.
Molar: One of the twelve teeth located distal to the second bicuspid on each side of each arch. Grinding teeth, having large crowns and broad chewing surfaces.
Occlusal: Pertaining to the biting surfaces of the premolar and molar teeth or contacting surfaces of opposing teeth or opposing occlusion rims.
Occlusion: Any contact between biting or chewing surfaces of maxillary (upper) and mandibular (lower) teeth.
Operculum: The flap of tissue over an unerupted or partially erupted tooth.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeon: A dental specialist whose practice is limited to the diagnosis, surgical and adjunctive treatment of diseases, injuries, deformities, defects and esthetic aspects of the oral and maxillofacial regions.
Orthodontist: A dentist who specializes in the prevention and correction of irregularities of the teeth and malocclusion, and associated facial problems.
Palate: The hard and soft tissues forming the roof of the mouth that separates the oral and nasal cavities.
Palliative: Action that relieves pain but is not curative.
Pediatric dentist: A dental specialist whose practice is limited to treatment of children from birth through adolescence; formerly known as pedodontist.
Pedodontist: See pediatric dentist.
Periodontal disease: Inflammatory process of the gingival tissues and/or periodontal membrane of the teeth, resulting in an abnormally deep gingival sulcus, possibly producing periodontal pockets and loss of supporting alveolar bone.
Periodontist: A dentist who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment and management and abnormal conditions of gum and bone tissues.
Pits and fissures: Little holes and cracks in tooth surfaces.
Plaque: A soft sticky substance that accumulates on teeth composed largely of bacteria and bacterial derivatives. Deposit of material on tooth surface causing dental caries.
Posterior: Located behind; rear.
Pre-molar: See bicuspid.
Prosthodontist: A dentist who specializes in the restoration of oral function by the replacement of missing teeth and structures by artificial devices.
Pulp: The highly vascular connective tissue contained within the pulp chamber and canals. It is made up of arteries, veins, nerves and lymph tissue.
RDH: Registered Dental Hygienist
Root: The portion of the tooth that is fixed in the socket and is covered with cementum.
Root canal: The portion of the pulp cavity inside the root of a tooth; the chamber within the root of the tooth that contains the pulp.
Scaling: Removal of plaque, calculus and stain from teeth.
Socket: A hollow or depression into which a tooth fits into the gums.
Suture: Stitch used to repair incision or wound.
Tartar: A mineral deposit on teeth.
Temporomandibular (TMJ): The connecting hinge mechanism between the base of the skull (temporal bone) and the lower jaw (mandible).
Temporomandibular joint disfunction: Abnormal functioning of temporomandibular joint; also refers to symptoms arising in other areas secondary to the dysfunction.
Veneer: In the construction of crowns or pontics, a layer of tooth-colored material, usually, but not limited to, composite, porcelain, ceramic or acrylic resin, attached to the surface by direct fusion, cementation, or mechanical retention; also refers to a restoration that is luted to the facial surface of a tooth.
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