Dental Terms won't be a privilege of dentists anymore

There are so many dental terms that they certainly deserve to have their own dictionary. For this blog purpose, we are not trying to publish a complete dental dictionary. What we are interested in is YOU. We have put together all the dental terminologies that you may be interested or useful, and sincerely hope that our effort here can help those patients who want to know more about dentistry.

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.