Definitions of Dental Terms

Select the first letter of the term you’re looking for:

A

• Abscess: A collection of pus. Usually forms because of infection.
• Abutment: A tooth or tooth structure which is responsible for the anchorage of a bridge or a denture.
• Amalgam: A silver filling material.
• Anesthetic: An agent that causes temporary loss of sensation/feeling.
• Anterior: The front position.
• Apex: The end of the root.
• Asepsis: No micro-organism.
• Attrition: Wear of teeth due to activities such as chewing.
• Avlused: An injury that causes a tooth to be completely knocked out of the mouth.

B

• Bitewing: A kind of dental x-ray which is taken with the teeth bite together. The main function of this kind of x-ray is to detect cavity in between teeth and height of bone support.
• Bleaching: Whitening of teeth.
• Bridge: A prosthesis which is fixed inside the mouth to replace missing teeth.
• Bruxism: Teeth grinding.

C

• Canine: The third tooth from the middle of the jaw. There are totally 4 of them. They are the longest teeth in humans.
• Canker sore An ulceration with yellow base and red border in mouth. It can be caused by trauma or herpes simplex virus.
• Caries: Tooth decay.
• Cavity: A hole on the tooth.
• Cast: A model of teeth.
• Cementation: The process of “glue” the appliance/prosthesis on the associated area.
• Chlorhexidine: An anti-microbial agent. It is available in many forms such as gels and rinses. It is an effective agent in

  controlling gum diseases.

• Clasp: A metal arm extends from a removable partial denture. It helps to hold on to natural tooth structure and thus provide

  anchorage for the denture.

• Cold sore: An ulcer or blister on lip. A form of herpes simplex.
• Composite: White filling.
• Cross-bite: An abnormal bite relationship of upper and lower jaw. The lower teeth/tooth align toward the check/ lip side more

  than the upper teeth/tooth.

• Crown (porcelain/plastic/metal): A crown is almost like a “cap” on a tooth. It covers the tooth partially or totally above the gum to restore its function and outlook.

D

• Decay: The rotten part of the tooth.
• Dentistry: A branch of medicine that involves diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of any disease concern about teeth, oral cavity, and associated structures.
• Dentition: The position, type, and number of teeth in upper and lower jaw.
• Denture: (Immediate/complete/partial) (overdenture, temporary) An artificial object to replace missing teeth and their neighboring structures. There are many different types of denture to satisfy different treatment requirements and patient preferences.
• Denturist: The person who specializes in fabricating dentures. Denturist is not responsible for making any type of diagnosis or carrying out any other treatment (e.g. Removing teeth).
• Desensitization: A procedure to reduce the sensitivity of teeth.
• Diagnosis: The process of identifying dental disease.
• Diastema: The space in between two adjacent teeth.
• Distal: A direction indication in the mouth. It indicates the direction away from the middle of the jaw.

E

• Edentulous: No teeth.
• Endodontics: A department of dentistry involves diagnosis, prevention and treatment of dental pulp (where the nerves and blood vessels inside the tooth).
• Eruption: The process of the tooth appearing in the mouth.
• Excision: The action of cutting something off.
• Extruded: When a tooth may be pushed partially out of the socket.

F

• Filling: A restoration places on a tooth to restore its function and appearance.
• Flipper: A temporary denture to replace missing teeth during the waiting period for long term treatment.
• Floss: A thread/tape goes in between teeth for cleaning.
• Fluoride: A compound of fluorine (an element) which be put in different forms such as water, gels, rinses to strengthen up teeth.
• Fluoride Treatment: Teeth treat with fluoride agents like gel or rinse. It helps to prevent tooth decay.
• Fracture: When a cusp of a tooth becomes weakened, a fracture may result. It is possible for the crack to extend further into the root and damage to the pulp is commonplace.
• Framework: A metal skeleton of a removable partial denture to support the false teeth and the plastic attachments.

G

• Gingivitis: The mildest form of gum disease: inflammation of gum. The earliest sign is bleeding gum.

H

• Haemorrhage: Bleeding.
• Homeostasis: Stop bleeding.

I

• Impaction: A condition that a tooth is not able to come in normally or stuck underneath another tooth or bone.
• Implant: A device (usually “screw-like”) put in the jaw bone to support a false tooth, a denture or a bridge.
• Impression: A mould taken by some jelly-like material loaded on a tray.
• Incisal: The cutting edge of front teeth.
• Incisor: The four upper and lower front teeth.
• Inlay: A restoration (usually is gold, composite or ceramics) fabricated in the lab cements on tooth like a missing puzzle. It helps to restore the normal function and outlook of the tooth.
• Interproximal: The space in between two adjacent teeth.

L

• Lingual: The side of the tooth towards the tongue.

M

• Mesial: The side of the tooth towards the middle of the jaw.
• Molar: The last 3 upper and lower teeth on both side of the mouth.
• Mouthguard: A device to be worn in the mouth. Depends on the design of it, it prevents injury on teeth and/or jaw during teeth grinding or sport events.

N

• Nightguard: A mouthguard which is worn at night time.

O

• Occlusal: The biting surface of the back teeth.
• Occlusion: The way how the upper and lower teeth close together.
• Onlay: A restoration covers the entire biting surface of a tooth.
• Open bite: The situation that the upper teeth not able to contact the opposing lower teeth.
• Orthodontics: A special field in dentistry which involves diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of bite abnormalities or facial irregularities.
• Over bite: The overlap of upper teeth and lower teeth when they close together.
• Overhang: The portion of filling material that hangs beyond the border of the cavity.

P

• Palate: The roof of the mouth.
• Panoramic Radiograph: An x-ray film to obtain the wide view of upper and lower jaw and their associated structures.
• Perforation: An opening on a tooth or other oral structure.
• Periapical: The surrounding of the bottom of the root of a tooth.
• Periodontics: A specialty of dentistry involves diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of supporting unit of teeth.
• Permanent teeth: Adult’s teeth. The first permanent tooth usually comes in around 6 years old.
• Pin: A piece of “nail-like” metal. It usually is used for better retention of a filling.
• Polish: A process to make the tooth or filling or other denture smooth and glossy.
• Pontic: The false tooth in a bridge or denture to replace the missing tooth.
• Post: A big pin which can be made with different materials such as metal or carbon. Its function usually is to support a big build-up on a tooth.
• Posterior: Locate at the back.
• Pre-authorization: An approval from the particular authority (usually insurance company in dentistry) before any action (treatment) is carried out.
• Pre-medication: Medication needs to be taken before treatment.
• Premolar: The two teeth located in front of the molar.
• Prescription: A written statement (from a doctor to a pharmacist) regarding the type, the amount and direction of the use of a medication for a patient. In dentistry, prescription can also be a written statement on preparation of an appliance from a dentist to a lab technician.
• Primary teeth: Baby teeth.
• Prophylaxis/prophy: The procedure of teeth polishing. It also means the prevention of diseases.
• Prosthesis: An artificial part to replace missing teeth and their associated structures.
• Prosthodontics: A specialty of dentistry involves diagnosis, treatment planning, and fabrication of artificial parts to replace missing teeth and their associated structures.
• Pulp: The inner most part of a tooth. It contains nerves and blood vessels inside a tooth.
• Pulpectomy: The removal of the whole pulp inside a tooth.
• Pulpotomy: The removal of the top part of the pulp inside a tooth.

R

• Radiograph: An x-ray picture.
• Recall: The regular check-up and teeth cleaning appointment.
• Recommendation: The process of “glue” the appliance/prosthesis back on the associated area.
• Restoration: An item a dentist uses to restore the normal function of a tooth or an area in the mouth. It can be a filling, a crown, a bridge, etc.
• Retainer: A device used for maintaining the position of teeth in the jaw in orthodontic treatment.
• Retreatment: The process of repeating the root canal treatment.
• Root: The bottom part of tooth. It anchors the tooth to its supporting units.
• Root canal: The canal that runs inside the root of the tooth. It contains the nerves and blood vessels inside the tooth.
• Root canal treatment: A treatment for the root canal inside the tooth.
• Root planning: The action of cleaning on the root area of teeth.
• Rubber dam: A rubber sheet that fits around teeth. It isolates the treatment area from the rest of the oral cavity.

S

• Scaling: The action of cleaning of teeth below the gum line.
• Sealant: A thin layer of plastic-like material covers the grooves and pits on a tooth to prevent cavity.
• Sedation: The use of medication to calm down a patient.
• Space Maintainer: An appliance to maintain the space in between teeth.
• Splint: An appliance or a material to prevent movement of amobile part.

T

• Tempromandibular Joint (TMJ): The joint that links two jaws.
• Torus: An outgrowth on bone. It usually develops on the roof of the mouth or around the premolar area on the lower jaw.

V

• Veneer: A layer of tooth-colored material (can be porcelain, composite, or ceramics) attaches to the front of the tooth. It is usually for better outlook of the tooth.

W

• Wisdom tooth: The eighth (also the last tooth) tooth from the middle of the jaw.

X

• Xerostomia: Dry mouth.