Dental Anatomy Terminology

Front 1

lips

Back 1

border of the entrance to the oral cavity; reddish in color due to unkeratinized layer

Front 2

vermillion border of the lips

Back 2

transitional zone between the skin of the face and the mucous membrane of the oral cavity

Front 3

tubercle of lip

Back 3

midline protrusion of the red zone of the upper lip

Front 4

philtrum

Back 4

shallow midline V-shaped depression extending from the base of the nose to the tubercle of the upper lip

Front 5

commisure of the lips

Back 5

union between the upper and lower lip at the corner of the mouth

Front 6

dental arches

Back 6

U-shaped arrangement of the teeth in the maxilla and mandible

Front 7

number of teeth

Back 7

deciduous (primary) dentition = 20
I 2/2 C 1/1 M 2/2
Permenant dentition = 32
I 2/2 C 1/1 P 2/2 M 3/3
* represents one side of upper and lower arches

Front 8

cheeks

Back 8

soft tissues of the face forming the lateral boundary of the oral cavity. lined on the inside of the oral cavity by mucous membrane

Front 9

vestibule

Back 9

space between the cheek and the tissue covering the bone of the upper and lower jaws

Front 10

labial frenii

Back 10

tissue seen at the midline connecting the inside of the upper and lower lips to the upper and lower jaws

Front 11

buccal frenni

Back 11

tissue seen traversing the vestibule adjacent to canines and premolars connecting the cheek muscle to the upper and lower jaws

Front 12

lingual frenni

Back 12

tissue seen under the tongue thatattaches the tongue to the lower jaw

Front 13

parotid papilla

Back 13

rounded elevation of mucous membrane of cheek adjacent to upper first and second molars; covers the opening of the parotid gland.

Front 14

palate

Back 14

roof of mouth

Front 15

hard palate

Back 15

anterior two thirds of the roof of the mouth formed by bony parts of the facial skeleton and covered by thick later of keratinized immovable tissue

Front 16

soft palate

Back 16

freely mobile mucous membrane forming the posterior one third of the palate

Front 17

vibrating line

Back 17

junction between movable and immovable tissue near the junction of the hard and soft palate

Front 18

incisive papilla

Back 18

oval or pear-shaped prominence of soft tissue on the hard palate in the midline immediately behind the maxillary central incisors

Front 19

palatine rugae

Back 19

irregular transverse ridges of dense connective tissue radiating laterally from the incisive papilla and the anterior most part of the hard palate

Front 20

fovea palatinae

Back 20

pair of pitted depressions representing opening of palatine glands located close to the midline and immediately behind the junction of hard and soft palate

Front 21

uvula

Back 21

a small fleshy structure hanging from the center of the posterior part of the side palate

Front 22

anterior and posterior pillars of fauces

Back 22

the arched opening in the back of the oral cavity leading to the esophagus is called the fauces. on either side of the fauces there are two folds of tissue running laterally from the uvula called the anterior and posterior arches or pillars

Front 23

maxillary tuberosity

Back 23

rounded bony prominence forming the most posterior part of the maxillary alveolar process

Front 24

tongue

Back 24

broad, flat muscular and glandular organ occupying the floor of the mouth. principle organ of taste. also aids in speech, chewing of food, and swallowing

Front 25

dorsum of the tongue

Back 25

the dorsal (top) surface of the tongue. it is divided roughly into anterior two thirds (body of tongue) and posterior one third (base of tongue) because of its developement, innervation and function.

Front 26

terminal sulcus

Back 26

V-shaped groove on the tongue that separates the anterior two thirds from the posterior one third. the apex of the v points backwards

Front 27

foramen cecum

Back 27

a deep blind pit at the apex of the terminal sulcus that marks the remains of the thyroglossal duct from which the development of the thyroid gland started

Front 28

circumvallate papillae

Back 28

large, flat, round prominences on the posterior of the tongue, arranged in a v-shaped row, immediately in front of the terminal sulcus

Front 29

filiform papillae

Back 29

numerous, densely arranged, hair-like, highly keratinized papillae occupying the entire dorsal surface of the tongue in front of the circumvallate papillae. they give the tongue a rough texture

Front 30

fungiform papillae

Back 30

small, rounf, bright-red elevations scattered and sparsely distributed between the filiform papillae. they are concentrated more near the tip and lateral borders of the tongue and contain some taste buds

Front 31

foliate papillae

Back 31

irregularly arranged folds or projections containing numerous taste buds found on the lateral borders of the tongue in the posterior one-third

Front 32

ventral surface of the tongue

Back 32

under surface of the tongue which is continuous with the soft tissue of the floor of the mouth

Front 33

plica fimbriata

Back 33

irregularly scalloped fold of mucous membrane on the ventral surface of the tongue on each side and lateral to the lingual frenum

Front 34

sublingual folds

Back 34

folds of tissue in the floor of the mouth extending from the first molar on either side to lingual frenum ducts of sublingual salivary glands open along these folds

Front 35

sublingual caruncles (wharton's duct openings)

Back 35

a pair of papillae under the tongue in the midline between the sublingual folds. each papillae contains an opening of the submandibular salivary glands

Front 36

gingiva

Back 36

soft pink tissue attached to the teeth and supporting bone

Front 37

gingival margin

Back 37

the incisal or occlusal margin of the gingiva around the cervical part of teeth

Front 38

free gingiva

Back 38

the portion of the gingival tissue surrounding each tooth from the gingival margin to the point where it attaches to the teeth. the trough thus fromed around the teeth is referred to as the gingival crevice or sulcus and is normally 1-3 mm in depth.

Front 39

interdental papilla

Back 39

the v-shaped gingival tissue between teeth

Front 40

attached gingiva

Back 40

light pink colored gingival tissue surrounding all teeth. does not include the free gingiva

Front 41

alveolar mucosa

Back 41

zone of mucous membrane beyond the attached gingiva covering the alveolar processes of the maxilla and mandible

Front 42

mucogingival junction

Back 42

scalloped line between the attached gingiva and the alveolar mucosa. parallels the free margin of the gingiva