Dental Anatomy Terminology Quiz 1

Front 1

maxillary

Back 1

of or pertaining to the upper arch of the mouth

Front 2

mandibular

Back 2

–of or pertaining to the lower arch of the mouth

Front 3

mesial

Back 3

– toward the center line of the dental arch

Front 4

distal

Back 4

away from the center line of the dental arch

Front 5

proximal

Back 5

the mesial or distal surface of a tooth or the portion of a cavity that is nearest to the adjacent tooth

Front 6

buccal

Back 6

adjacent to the cheek (premolars and molars)

Front 7

labial

Back 7

toward the lip (incisors and canines)

Front 8

facial

Back 8

– a general term to include buccal and labial surfaces of teeth in both the maxillary and mandibular arches

Front 9

occlusal

Back 9

pertaining to the masticating surfaces of the posterior teeth

Front 10

lingual

Back 10

next to or toward the tongue

Front 11

incisal

Back 11

relating to the cutting edge of the anterior teeth, the incisors and canines

Front 12

pulpal

Back 12

an internal wall perpendicular to the long axis of the tooth

Front 13

axial

Back 13

an internal wall parallel to the long axis of the tooth

Front 14

cusp

Back 14

an elevation or mound on the crown portion of the tooth making up a divisional part of the occlusal surface

Front 15

cingulum

Back 15

a large rounded eminence on the lingual surface of all anterior teeth, which encompasses the cervical third of the lingual surface

Front 16

tubercle

Back 16

an elevation smaller than a cusp on some portion of the crown produced by an extra formation of enamel (These are deviations from the typical form except for the Cusp of Carabelli on the maxillary first molar.)

Front 17

mamelon

Back 17

rounded projections on incisal edges of incisors which normally wear away shortly after eruption

Front 18

ridge

Back 18

any linear elevation on the surface of the tooth and is named according to its location

Front 19

marginal ridges

Back 19

those rounded borders of the enamel that form the mesial and distal margins of the occlusal surfaces of premolars and molars and the mesial and distal margins of the lingual surfaces of the incisors and canines

Front 20

triangular ridges

Back 20

linear ridges which descend from the tips of cusps of posterior teeth toward the central area of the occlusal surface forming a triangular shape

Front 21

transverse ridge

Back 21

the union of a buccal and lingual triangular ridge crossing transversely the surface of a posterior tooth

Front 22

oblique ridge

Back 22

a ridge crossing obliquely the occlusal surfaces of maxillary molars and formed by the union of the triangular ridge of the distobuccal cusp and the distal cusp ridge of the mesiolingual cusp

Front 23

cusp ridge

Back 23

the ridges extending from a cusp tip; each cusp has four cusp ridges extending in different directions (mesial, distal, facial, and lingual)

Front 24

fossa

Back 24

an irregular depression or concavity

Front 25

lingual fossae

Back 25

located on the lingual surface of incisors

Front 26

central fossae

Back 26

located on the occlusal surfaces of molars, formed by the converging of ridges terminating at a central point in the bottom of the depression where there is a junction of grooves

Front 27

triangular fossae

Back 27

located on molars and premolars on the occlusal surfaces adjacent to marginal ridges (They are sometimes found on the lingual surfaces of maxillary incisors at the edge of the lingual fossae where the marginal ridges and the cingulum meet.)

Front 28

developmental (primary) groove

Back 28

a shallow groove or line between the primary parts, or lobes, of the crown of a tooth

Front 29

supplemental (secondary) groove

Back 29

an auxiliary groove which branches from a developmental groove, and is not related to the junction of primary parts of the crown

Front 30

pits

Back 30

small pinpoint depressions located at the junction of developmental grooves or at terminals of these grooves

Front 31

line angle

Back 31

where two walls (surfaces) meet – i.e. mesiobuccal line angle

Front 32

point angle

Back 32

where three walls (surfaces) meet – i.e. mesio-occluso-buccal point angle

When combining words to form the name of a line angle or point angle, the last two letters of all but the last word are dropped and the letter “o” is substituted. Two o’s are separated by a hyphen.

Front 33

contact area

Back 33

the area of the proximal surface (mesial or distal) of a tooth that touches an adjacent tooth in that arch

Front 34

embrasure

Back 34

the open spaces between the proximal surfaces of adjacent teeth

Front 35

lobe

Back 35

one of four or five, primary centers of formation of a tooth’s crown

Cusps are representative of lobes. Mamelons represent the incisal termination of a lobe.

Front 36

concave or concavity

Back 36

a surface that curves inward

Front 37

convex or convexity

Back 37

a surface that curves or bulges outward