Dental Terms for Non-Native English Speakers

WHAT DOES THE TERM DENTAL HEALTH MEAN?

Your teeth, gums, and mouth are concerned with dental or oral health. The objective is the avoidance of complications such as cavities and gum disease and the maintenance of your mouth's overall health.  

To be more concise, Dr. Saul N. Miller, DDS defines dental health as: ‘Dental Health is a general term that refers to the overall health status of your mouth.’

Although several other physicians focus on dental health, they remain part of your regular health team. Diseases and others can affect your dental health, and other parts of your body may suffer from dental problems. Another health issue may be due to the failure to treat your oral health properly.

By regular preventives (brushing, flossing, etc.) and regular visits to dentists, you can help to avoid or minimize numerous oral health problems, and have whitening teeth!

Dental health starts soon after your birth and continues throughout your life. Constant and consistent oral health habits emerge in children from their parents. 

Good oral health and regular visits to dentists help you to experience the advantages of a bright smile and an unpainted mouth. If you start functional oral medicine early and keep up with it in adulthood, the chances are good you're healthy, you're going to have an agreeable breath, healthy teeth, and a luminous smile.

While it is not too late to see a dentist for corrective procedures, even if you have allowed the dental problems to develop over time, thanks to modern practices, a lot of pain felt by people due to dental treatment has been prevented.

DENTAL DEFINITIONS AND TERMINOLOGY

A list of common dental terminology and terms you can hear or read when you learn more about oral health is presented here.

Abrasion

Tooth wear caused by non-chewing forces such as holding objects between the teeth or improper brushing.

Abutment

A dental prosthesis-enhancing tooth (or implant).

Apicoectomy

Removal of a dental root tip

Bicuspid

A premolar tooth; a two-cusped tooth

Biopsy

The tissue removal process for histological assessment

Whitening

A cosmetic denture which whites your teeth with a bleaching solution

Bonding

To change shape or color, a composite resin applied to a tooth. Bonding also refers to how teeth can be attached to a filling, orthodontic appliance or sure fixed partial dentures.

Calculus

Hard deposition of mineralized material that adheres to crowns or teeth roots.

Caries

The term commonly used for tooth decay.

 

Cavities

Decay in the caries-caused dent, also known as carious lesion.

Composite

Dental restorative material consisting of disparate or separate parts (e.g., particles of resin and quartz);

Crown

Simple crown process using a porcelain crown that is fused to non-precious metal and does not involve complicated prep.

Anatomical Crown

That portion of the tooth which is typically covered by enamel, including.

Abutment Crown-Artificial crown used for dental prosthesis retention or support.

Artificial Crown-Restoration that covers or replaces the majority, or the entire, of a tooth's clinical crown.

Cusp

The dotted tooth portion.

Dental prophylaxis

Scaling and polishing of the coronal plaque, the calculus, and the stains

And flakes.

Prosthesis in dentistry

An artificial device that replaces a missing tooth or more.

Dental specialist

A dentist is one of the recognized dental specialties which has received postgraduate training.

Dentin

The part of the dent which is under the enamel and cement.

Denture

An artificial replacement for the natural teeth and adjacent tissues.

Base of dentures

The part of the denture holding the artificial teeth and fitting over the gums

 

 

Dry mouth

The state of not having enough saliva to keep your mouth wet. If it goes untreated, severe dry mouth can lead to increased tooth decay levels and mouth infections.

Enamel

Hard calcified tissue that covers tooth crown dentin.

Endodontist

A dental specialist who restricts his / her practice to treating pulp disease and pulp injuries and related periradicular conditions.

Erosion

Wearing down the structure of the dent caused by chemicals (acids).

Extraction

The process or act of removing parts of a dent or tooth.

Simple extraction-Simple tooth extraction, which does not require tooth sectioning or other extraordinary removal procedures.

Filling-A lay term used by materials such as metal, alloy, plastic, or porcelain to restore lost tooth structure.

Amalgam-silver filling of a single surface.

Composite-Single surface composite filling (white or colored with a tooth) performed on the front of the mouth.

Graft

A piece of tissue or alloplastic material that is put into tissue contact to repair a defect or supplement a deficiency.

Instant Denture

Prosthesis built for placement immediately following removal of the remaining natural teeth

Impacted tooth

A partially erupted tooth that is placed against another tooth, bone, or soft tissue, so it is unlikely to erupt completely.

Malocclusion

Improper alignment of upper and lower teeth to biting or chewing surfaces.

 

Occlusal

Concerning the biting surfaces of premolar and molar teeth or contacting surfaces of opposing teeth or rims of occlusion opposing them.

Orthodontist

A dental specialist whose practice is limited to intercepting and treating teeth and their surrounding structures with malocclusion.

Overdenture

A removable prosthetic device that overlaps and can be backed up by retained tooth roots or implants.

Palate

The hard and soft tissues which form the mouth's roof separating the oral and nasal cavities.

Temporary Abscess

An infection that can damage hard and soft tissues in the gum pocket.

Periodontal Ailment

The inflammatory process of the gingival tissue or the teeth's periodontal membrane, resulting in an abnormally deep gingival sulcus, producing possibly periodontal pockets and loss of supporting alveolar bone.

Periodontitis

Inflammation and loss of the connective tissue of the supporting or surrounding teeth structure with loss of bonding.

Plaque

A soft, sticky substance mainly composed of bacteria and bacterial derivatives that accumulate on teeth.

Prophylaxis

Scaling and polishing of coronal plaque, calculus, and stain removal procedure.

Pulp

Connective tissue which contains blood vessels and nerve tissue which occupies a tooth's pulp cavity.

Radiograph

An image produced on photographic film by the projection of radiation, like X-rays. Commonly known as an X-ray.

Reline

To resurface the side of the denture in contact with the mouth's soft tissues to make it fit safer.

Root Canal

The portion of the pulp cavity inside a tooth's root; the chamber inside the tooth's root, which contains the pulp.

Scaling

Plaque removal, calculus, and stain removal from teeth.

Sealant

The plastic resin that is placed on molars' biting surfaces to prevent bacteria from attacking the enamel and causing caries.

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