Other dental terms |
Abutment |
The teeth on either side of a missing tooth. |
Amalgam |
A silver/mercury mixture which is used for fillings. |
Anatomy |
1)The arangement of the bones in your skeleton 2) The study of the arrangement of the bones in your skeleton. |
Antiseptic |
A chemical agent which can be applied to living tissues to destroy germs. |
Anesthetic |
A drug which a doctor or dentist uses to put you, your mouth, or some other part of your body asleep so you do not feel any pain during dental or medical procedures. |
Anterior |
An adjective used to describe things pertaining to your your Centrals, laterals and cuspids (your front teeth). |
Arch |
Collectively, either the teeth or the basal bone of either jaw. |
Articulator |
A special holder for models of your teeth. The articulator holds the models in the same alignment as your jaw so the orthodontist can look carefully at your bite. |
Asepsis |
The avoidance of potentially pathogenic microorganism. In practice,it refers to those techniques which aims to exclude all microorganisms. |
Aspirator |
A tube like a straw which the dentist puts in your mouth to suck up all the saliva. |
Aspiration |
Removal of fluids from your mouth with an aspirator. |
Bruxism |
Clenching or grinding of your teeth especially at night. |
Calculus |
A hard deposit that forms when you do not brush your teeth so the plaque hardens. Calculus is also known as tartar. |
Caries |
Another name for a cavities (tooth decay) |
Cavity |
A small hole in one of your teeth caused by tooth decay. |
Cross contamination |
Passing bacteria, viruses or AIDS indirectly from one patient to another through the use of improper sterilization procedures, unclean instruments, or “recycling” of orthodontic products. |
Crown |
1) An artifacial tooth, 2) an artificial replacement for the covering on a tooth. |
Curettage |
A periodontal procedure where your gums are scraped to remove bacteria. |
Decalcification |
The loss of calcium from your teeth. This weakens your teeth and makes them more succeptable to decay |
Denture |
A synthetic replacment for all of your teeth in either your upper or your lower jaw. |
Diagnosis |
the process of identifying the nature of a disorder. |
Direct contamination |
Direct contact with impurities or germs. (for example by a Patient sneezing on the assistant.) |
Disinfection |
A cleaning process which destroys of most microorganism, but not highly resistant forms such as bacterial and mycotic spores or the AIDS virus. |
Disinfectant |
A chemical agent which is applied onto inanimate surfaces, for example chairs, to destroy germs. |
Disposable materials |
materials intended for one use and discarded. (e.g.: Gloves, paper gowns, cotton rolls, sponges, etc.) |
Distal |
Behind towards the back of the mouth. For example you might say that the first bicuspid is distal to the cuspid. |
Edentulous |
Someone is said to be edentulous whene all of their teeth are missing from either their upper or lower jaw. |
Endodontist (Endo) |
A dentist who specializes in root canals and the treatment of diseases or injuries that affect the root tips or nerves in your teeth. |
Erupt, Eruption |
When a new tooth comes in, the tooth is said to erupt when the tooth breaks through the surface of your gums, so you can see the tooth in your mouth. |
Exfoliate |
to fall out. (Your Deciduous teeth exfoliate and permanent teeth erupt into the space.) |
Extraoral |
Outside of your mouth. For example, neck pads are sait to be extra oral products since they go outside of your mouth. |
Filtrum |
the dimple or indentation under the nose directly above the upper lip. |
Fluoride |
A chemical solution or gel which you put on your teeth. The flouride hardens your teeth and prevents tooth decay. |
Gingival hypertrophy |
The abnormal enlargement of the gingiva surrounding the teeth caused by poor oral hygiene. |
Gingivitis |
The inflammation of your gums caused by improper brushing. The first sign of periodontal (gum) disease. |
Impacted tooth |
An unerupted tooth that somehow has gotten stuck and cannot come in. |
Implant |
A replacement for one of your missing teeth. The implant is different than a bridge in that the implant is permenantly attached into your jaw. |
Incisal |
The biting edge of your centrals and laterals. |
Interproximal |
the space between adjacent teeth |
Intraoral |
Inside your mouth. For example, orthodontic rubber bands are called intraoral products since the rubber bands are designed to go in your mouth. |
Irrigation |
the technique of using a solution to wash out your mouth and to flush debris. |
Labial |
The tooth surface next to your lips or things mounted on the tooth surfaces next to your lips. |
Lingual |
The tooth surface next to your tongue or things mounted on the tooth surfaces next to your tongue. |
Mandible |
Your lower jaw |
Mandibular |
Pertaining to your lower jaw |
Masticate |
To chew your food and mix the food with saliva |
Maxilla |
Your upper jaw |
Maxillary |
Pertaining to your upper jaw |
Mesial |
Forward or front. For example your cuspid is mesial to you bicuspid. The mesial surface of your bicuspid is the part of the bicuspid closest to your cuspid. |
Midline |
A plane through the very center of your mouth perpendicular to your nose. |
Mixed dentition |
The situation when both deciduous and permanent teeth are present. |
Occlusal |
the chewing or grinding surface of the bicuspid and molar teeth. |
Occlusal plane |
the imaginary surface on which upper and lower teeth meet. |
Occlusal radiograph |
the only x-ray that is taken without a precision(tm) x-ray holder. The x-ray film for this procedure is shaped like a large oatmeal cookie. You are asked to bite on the x-ray film and the top of the x-ray machine is positioned over your nose for a maxillary occlusal x-ray or under your chin for a mandibular occlusal film. The x- ray shows the whole arch. |
Oral |
pertaining to the mouth. |
Osteoblasts |
Cells which aid the growth and development of teeth and bones. |
Osteoclasts |
Cells which help create the sockets in bones. For example osteoclasps create the openings in your jaw bone to hold your teeth. |
Pathogens |
disease producing organisms that can exist in many different places. (e.g.: Air, dust, counter top surfaces, the body, etc.) |
Pathology |
the study of abnormal (diseased) tissue conditions. |
Pedodontist (Pedo) |
A dentist who specializes in the treatment of children’s teeth. |
Periapical |
x-ray of individual teeth or groups of teeth. |
Periodontist (Perio) |
A dentist who specializes in the treatment of diseases of your gums. |
Plaque |
is a colorless, odorless, sticky substance containing acids and bacteria that causes tooth decay. |
Periodontal |
Pertaining to your gums. For example periodontal desiese is gum disease. |
Periodontist |
A dentist who specializes in the treatment of gum disease. |
Posterior |
An adjective used to describe things pertaining to the back of your mouth or your back teeth. |
Prophylaxis |
Cleaning your teeth |
Prosthodontist |
A dentist who specializes in the replacement of missing teeth. |
Proximal |
Refers to the surfaces of teeth that touch the next tooth; the space between adjacent teeth is the interproximal space. |
Radiograph |
Another name for an x-ray |
Root canal |
A procedure where the nerve of a heavily decayed tooth is removed from the tooth replaced with a filling material |
Sagittal plane |
The longitudinal vertical plane that divides the mouth into two halves (left and right.) |
Sanitization |
A cleaning process which reduces germs to a “safe” level. |
Space maintainer |
A gadget used to maintain a space in your mouth. You would use a space maintainer when you lose one of your baby teeth. The space maintainer will keep a space in your mouth until a permenant tooth comes in to fill the space. |
Sterilization |
A process where a medical material is treated to remove all possible germs and other forms of life |
Supernumerary teeth |
Some people have extra teeth. These are called “supernumerary teeth”. |
Tartar |
Another name for calculus |
TMJ |
An abreviation for the “temporomandibular joint” The “temporomandibular joint” is the joint where your lower jaw connects to your skull. |
Treatment card |
a sheet of paper or special index card used to record your treatment progress. |
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