Glossary of Terms

Amalgam: An alloy used in direct dental restorations.

Anatomical Crown: That portion of tooth normally covered by, and including, enamel;

Abutment Crown: Artificial crown serving for the retention or support of a dental prosthesis;

Artificial Crown: Restoration covering or replacing the major part, or the whole of the clinical crown of a tooth;

Bicuspid: A premolar tooth; a tooth with two cusps. These teeth are used to tear and crush food.

Bruxism: The grinding of the teeth. Or clenching of the jaw, particularly when one sleeps

Calculus: Hard deposit of mineralized material adhering to crowns and/or roots of teeth.

Caries: Commonly used term for tooth decay.

Cavity: Decay in tooth caused by caries; also referred to as carious lesion.

Cementum: Hard connective tissue covering the tooth root.

Composite: A dental restorative material made up of separate parts (e.g. resin and quartz particles).

Clinical Crown: That portion of a tooth not covered by supporting tissues.

Crown: The part of the tooth that is above the gum line.

Cuspid: Also called Canines because of their long, sharp points, these are the teeth used for tearing food.

Decay: Decomposition of tooth structure.

Dental Prophylaxis: Scaling and polishing procedure performed to remove coronal plaque, calculus, and stains.

Dentin: The tissue just below the outer layer of a tooth

Dentition: The teeth in the dental arch.

Permanent Dentition: The permanent teeth in the dental arch.

Deciduous Dentition: The primary teeth in the dental arch.

Denture: An artificial substitute for natural teeth and adjoining tissues.

Direct Restoration: A restoration fabricated inside the mouth.

Enamel: Hard, shiny, outer layer of your tooth that you brush.

Extraction: Removal of a tooth or tooth parts.

Filling: Restoration of lost tooth structure by using materials such as metal, alloy, plastic or porcelain.

Fluoride: A natural element that works by making tooth enamel harder and more resistant to the acid that causes tooth decay.

Gingivitis: Inflammation of the gums.

Gums: The soft tissue that surrounds the base of the teeth

Impacted Tooth: An unerupted or partially erupted tooth that is positioned against another tooth, bone, or soft tissue so that complete eruption is unlikely.

Implant: Material inserted or grafted into tissue.

Dental Implant: A device specially designed to be placed surgically within or on the mandibular or maxillary bone as a means of providing for dental replacement

Inlay: A dental restoration made outside of the oral cavity to correspond to the form of the prepared cavity, which is then luted into the tooth.

Intraoral: Inside the mouth.

Incisors: Teeth used for cutting off bites of food.

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

Maxilla: The upper jaw.

Milk Teeth: Baby teeth or first teeth, also called primary teeth.

Molar: Teeth posterior to the premolars (bicuspids) on either side of the jaw; grinding teeth, having large crowns and broad chewing surfaces.

Occlusal: Pertaining to the biting surfaces of the premolar and molar teeth or contacting surfaces of opposing teeth or opposing occlusion rims.

Occlusion: Any contact between biting or chewing surfaces of maxillary (upper) and mandibular (lower) teeth.

Onlay: An indirect restoration made outside the oral cavity that overlays a cusp or cusps of the tooth, which is then luted to the tooth.

Oral: Pertaining to the mouth.

Palate: The hard and soft tissues forming the roof of the mouth that separates the oral and nasal cavities.

Plaque: A soft sticky substance that accumulates on teeth composed largely of bacteria

Post: An elongated projection fitted and cemented within the prepared root canal, serving to strengthen and retain restorative material and/or a crown restoration.

Posterior: Refers to teeth and tissues towards the back of the mouth (distal to the canines): maxillary and mandibular premolars and molars.

Pulp: The soft center of a tooth that contains nerves and blood vessels.

Root: The part of the tooth that anchors it to the jaw.

Root Canal: The portion of the pulp cavity inside the root of a tooth; the chamber within the root of the tooth that contains the pulp.

Scaling: Removal of plaque, calculus, and stain from teeth.

Temporomandibular (TMJ): The connecting hinge mechanism between the base of the skull (temporal bone) and the lower jaw (mandible).

Unerupted: Tooth/teeth that have not penetrated into the oral cavity

Veneer: In the construction of crowns or pontics, a layer of tooth-colored material, usually, but not limited to, composite, porcelain, ceramic or acrylic resin, attached to the surface by direct fusion, cementation, or mechanical retention; also refers to a restoration that is luted to the facial surface of a tooth.

X-Ray: Radiograph