Dental Terms

Front 1

central

Back 1

The two upper and two lower teeth in the very center of your mouth

Front 2

lateral

Back 2

The teeth just adjacent to the centrals.

Front 3

cuspid

Back 3

The pointy teeth just behind the laterals. These teeth have one cuspal (or point). Cuspids are also called canines

Front 4

first bicuspid

Back 4

The teeth just behind the cuspids. These teeth have two cuspals (or points)

Front 5

second bicuspid

Back 5

The teeth just behind the first bicuspids. These teeth also have two cuspals (or points).

Front 6

first molar

Back 6

The teeth just behind the second bicuspids. These teeth have a level surface with four cuspals.

Front 7

second molar

Back 7

The teeth just behind the first. These teeth also have a level surface with four cuspals.

Front 8

third molar

Back 8

The teeth just behind the second molars. These teeth also have a level surface with four cuspals.

Front 9

incisor

Back 9

Another name for the centrals and laterals

Front 10

canine

Back 10

Another name for the cuspids

Front 11

6 year old molar

Back 11

Another name for your first molar

Front 12

12 year old molar

Back 12

Another name for your second molar

Front 13

wisdom tooth

Back 13

Another name for your third molar

Front 14

Anterior Teeth

Back 14

Your centrals, laterals, and cuspids. These are the teeth in the front of your mouth

Front 15

Posterior Teeth

Back 15

Your bicuspids and molars. These are the teeth in the back of your mouth.

Front 16

Deciduous Teeth

Back 16

Your primary, or "baby teeth"

Front 17

Primary teeth

Back 17

The first set of teeth which come in. Primary teeth are also called "baby teeth" or deciduous teeth.

Front 18

Secondary Teeth

Back 18

Your permenant teeth, i.e. the second group of teeth to come in.

Front 19

Quadrants

Back 19

The four parts of your mouth, that is the upper left, the upper right, the lower left, and the lower right.

Front 20

Numerical notation for teeth

Back 20

The numerical notation for teeth is an alternate to Palmer's notation. In this notation, the centrals are designated as 1's, the laterals as 2's, the cuspids as 3's, the first bicuspids as 4's, the seond bicuspid's as 5's, etc.

Front 21

Universal numerical notation for teeth

Back 21

The universal numerical notation is an alternative numerical notation for teeth. In this notation, your upper right third molar is designated as tooth#1, and then you number each tooth sequentially moving right to left and down across your mouth.

Front 22

Alveolus

Back 22

A opening in your jaw-bone in which a tooth is attached.

Front 23

Apex

Back 23

The very bottom of the root of your tooth

Front 24

Buccal

Back 24

The tooth surface which is next to your cheeks. Usually only posterior teeth touch your cheeks, so people usually use the term "buccal" only when talking about your back teeth.

Front 25

Cementum

Back 25

A bony substance covering the root of a tooth.

Front 26

Crown

Back 26

The part of your tooth above your gum.

Front 27

Cuspal

Back 27

The chewing or tearing points of the cuspids, bicuspids, and molars.

Front 28

Dentin

Back 28

The calcium part of a tooth below the enamel containing the pulp chamber and root canals.

Front 29

Enamel

Back 29

A hard ceramic which covers the exposed part of your teeth.

Front 30

Frenum

Back 30

Small pieces of pink colored skin that attach your lips, cheeks and tongue to your mouth. Examples include the piece of skin under your tounge which sticks out when you pick up your tongue, and the piece of skin which sticks out when you pull out your lips.

Front 31

Gingivae

Back 31

Another name for your gums

Front 32

Gums

Back 32

The pink areas around your teeth

Front 33

Pulp

Back 33

The soft inner structure of a tooth, consisting of nerve and blood vessels

Front 34

Pulp chamber

Back 34

The very inner part of your tooth containing nerve cells and blood vessels.

Front 35

Pulp canal

Back 35

Another name for the pulp chamber

Front 36

Root

Back 36

The part of your tooth in your gums

Front 37

Abutment

Back 37

The teeth on either side of a missing tooth.

Front 38

Amalgam

Back 38

A silver/mercury mixture which is used for fillings.

Front 39

Anatomy

Back 39

1)The arangement of the bones in your skeleton
2) The study of the arrangement of the bones in your skeleton.

Front 40

Antiseptic

Back 40

A chemical agent which can be applied to living tissues to destroy germs.

Front 41

Anesthetic

Back 41

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.

Front 42

Anterior

Back 42

An adjective used to describe things pertaining to your your Centrals, laterals and cuspids (your front teeth).

Front 43

Arch

Back 43

Collectively, either the teeth or the basal bone of either jaw.

Front 44

Articulator

Back 44

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.

Front 45

Asepsis

Back 45

The avoidance of potentially pathogenic microorganism. In practice,it refers to those techniques which aims to exclude all microorganisms.

Front 46

Aspirator

Back 46

A tube like a straw which the dentist puts in your mouth to suck up all the saliva.

Front 47

Aspiration

Back 47

Removal of fluids from your mouth with an aspirator.

Front 48

Bruxism

Back 48

Clenching or grinding of your teeth especially at night.

Front 49

Calculus

Back 49

A hard deposit that forms when you do not brush your teeth so the plaque hardens. Calculus is also known as tartar.

Front 50

Caries

Back 50

Another name for a cavities (tooth decay)

Front 51

Cavity

Back 51

A small hole in one of your teeth caused by tooth decay.

Front 52

Cross contamination

Back 52

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.

Front 53

Crown

Back 53

1) An artifacial tooth, 2) an artificial replacement for the covering on a tooth.

Front 54

Curettage

Back 54

A periodontal procedure where your gums are scraped to remove bacteria.

Front 55

Decalcification

Back 55

The loss of calcium from your teeth. This weakens your teeth and makes them more succeptable to decay.

Front 56

Denture

Back 56

A synthetic replacment for all of your teeth in either your upper or your lower jaw.

Front 57

Diagnosis

Back 57

the process of identifying the nature of a disorder.

Front 58

Direct contamination

Back 58

Direct contact with impurities or germs. (for example by a Patient sneezing on the assistant.)

Front 59

Disinfection

Back 59

A cleaning process which destroys of most microorganism, but not highly resistant forms such as bacterial and mycotic spores or the AIDS virus.

Front 60

Disinfectant

Back 60

A chemical agent which is applied onto inanimate surfaces, for example chairs, to destroy germs.

Front 61

Disposable materials

Back 61

materials intended for one use and discarded. (e.g.: Gloves, paper gowns, cotton rolls, sponges, etc.)

Front 62

Distal

Back 62

Behind towards the back of the mouth. For example you might say that the first bicuspid is distal to the cuspid.

Front 63

Edentulous

Back 63

Someone is said to be ______ whene all of their teeth are missing from either their upper or lower jaw.

Front 64

Endodontist (Endo)

Back 64

A dentist who specializes in root canals and the treatment of diseases or injuries that affect the root tips or nerves in your teeth.

Front 65

Erupt, Eruption

Back 65

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.

Front 66

Exfoliate

Back 66

to fall out. (Your Deciduous teeth exfoliate and permanent teeth erupt into the space.)

Front 67

Extraoral

Back 67

Outside of your mouth. For example, neck pads are sait to be extra oral products since they go outside of your mouth.

Front 68

Filtrum

Back 68

the dimple or indentation under the nose directly above the upper lip.

Front 69

Fluoride

Back 69

A chemical solution or gel which you put on your teeth. The flouride hardens your teeth and prevents tooth decay.

Front 70

Gingival hypertrophy

Back 70

The abnormal enlargement of the gingiva surrounding the teeth caused by poor oral hygiene.

Front 71

Gingivitis

Back 71

The inflammation of your gums caused by improper brushing. The first sign of periodontal (gum) disease.

Front 72

Impacted tooth

Back 72

An unerupted tooth that somehow has gotten stuck and cannot come in.

Front 73

Implant

Back 73

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.

Front 74

Incisal

Back 74

The biting edge of your centrals and laterals.

Front 75

Interproximal

Back 75

the space between adjacent teeth

Front 76

Intraoral

Back 76

Inside your mouth. For example, orthodontic rubber bands are called intraoral products since the rubber bands are designed to go in your mouth.

Front 77

Irrigation

Back 77

the technique of using a solution to wash out your mouth and to flush debris.

Front 78

Labial

Back 78

The tooth surface next to your lips or things mounted on the tooth surfaces next to your lips.

Front 79

Lingual

Back 79

The tooth surface next to your tongue or things mounted on the tooth surfaces next to your tongue.

Front 80

Mandible

Back 80

Your lower jaw

Front 81

Mandibular

Back 81

Pertaining to your lower jaw

Front 82

Masticate

Back 82

To chew your food and mix the food with saliva

Front 83

Maxilla

Back 83

Your upper jaw

Front 84

Maxillary

Back 84

Pertaining to your upper jaw

Front 85

Mesial

Back 85

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.

Front 86

Midline

Back 86

A plane through the very center of your mouth perpendicular to your nose.

Front 87

Mixed dentition

Back 87

The situation when both deciduous and permanent teeth are present.

Front 88

Occlusal

Back 88

the chewing or grinding surface of the bicuspid and molar teeth.

Front 89

Occlusal plane

Back 89

the imaginary surface on which upper and lower teeth meet.

Front 90

Occlusal radiograph

Back 90

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.

Front 91

Oral

Back 91

pertaining to the mouth.

Front 92

Osteoblasts

Back 92

Cells which aid the growth and development of teeth and bones.

Front 93

Osteoclasts

Back 93

Cells which help create the sockets in bones. For example osteoclasps create the openings in your jaw bone to hold your teeth.

Front 94

Pathogens

Back 94

disease producing organisms that can exist in many different places. (e.g.: Air, dust, counter top surfaces, the body, etc.)

Front 95

Pathology

Back 95

the study of abnormal (diseased) tissue conditions.

Front 96

Pedodontist (Pedo)

Back 96

A dentist who specializes in the treatment of children's teeth.

Front 97

Periapical

Back 97

x-ray of individual teeth or groups of teeth.

Front 98

Periodontist (Perio)

Back 98

A dentist who specializes in the treatment of diseases of your gums.

Front 99

Plaque

Back 99

is a colorless, odorless, sticky substance containing acids and bacteria that causes tooth decay.

Front 100

Periodontal

Back 100

Pertaining to your gums. For example periodontal desiese is gum disease.

Front 101

Posterior

Back 101

An adjective used to describe things pertaining to the back of your mouth or your back teeth.

Front 102

Prophylaxis

Back 102

Cleaning your teeth

Front 103

Prosthodontist

Back 103

A dentist who specializes in the replacement of missing teeth.

Front 104

Proximal

Back 104

Refers to the surfaces of teeth that touch the next tooth; the space between adjacent teeth is the interproximal space.

Front 105

Radiograph

Back 105

Another name for an x-ray

Front 106

Root canal

Back 106

A procedure where the nerve of a heavily decayed tooth is removed from the tooth replaced with a filling material

Front 107

Sagittal plane

Back 107

The longitudinal vertical plane that divides the mouth into two halves (left and right.)

Front 108

Sanitization

Back 108

A cleaning process which reduces germs to a "safe" level.

Front 109

Space maintainer

Back 109

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.

Front 110

Sterilization

Back 110

A process where a medical material is treated to remove all possible germs and other forms of life

Front 111

Supernumerary teeth

Back 111

Some people have extra teeth. These are called _________

Front 112

Tartar

Back 112

Another name for calculus

Front 113

TMJ

Back 113

An abreviation for the "temporomandibular joint" The "temporomandibular joint" is the joint where your lower jaw connects to your skull.

Front 114

Treatment card

Back 114

a sheet of paper or special index card used to record your treatment progress.