DENTAL TERMINOLOGY ‫ ﻋﺼﺎم اﻟﺠﻮراﻧﻲ‬.

‫د‬

Dental terminology
Dr.Issam Aljorani (BDS, MSc. Ortho.)

Lecture 1

Introduction
Dental terminology involves the study of words and terms related
specifically to the dental sciences. Every science has its own unique
terminology. In medical terminology, many words refer to the proximity
or nearness to anatomical structures. Many dental terms originate from
the names of bones or structures, but more often, from the names of dental
procedures or practical approaches.

Dental terms are usually formed by a combination of small words or

syllables linked in a “building block” or word chain. When analyzing the
structure of a word, we observe the following:

A prefix qualifies the word by indicating such things as the quantity, color, size, condition, or
location. A word may or may not have a prefix.

A root provides the basic foundation for the word. A dental term may have more than one root.
When two roots are combined, a combining vowel
(usually o) is used to connect them.

A suffix is sometimes added to a root (s) to qualify or

describe the meaning. The combining vowel (o) placed
after the root is not used when the suffix itself begins
with a vowel.

Prefix

Alters the word is meaning by indicating number, color, size, location, or condition. Some
common prefixes used in dental terminology;

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 DENTAL TERMINOLOGY ‫ ﻋﺼﺎم اﻟﺠﻮراﻧﻲ‬.‫د‬


Examples of Prefixes Denoting Quantity or Number
prefix meaning example ‫اﻟﻤﻌﻨﻰ‬

bi- two, double bifurcation ‫ﺛﻨﺎﺋﻲ اﻟﺘﻔﺮع‬

hemi- half hemisection ‫ﻧﺼﻒ ﻣﻘﻄﻊ اوﺷﻌﺒﮫ‬
cent- hundred centimeter ‫ﻣﺌﺔ ﻣﻠﻢ‬
mon/o- one monomer ‫ﻣﺎده ﺗﺴﺘﻌﻤﻞ ﻓﻲ ﺻﻨﺎﻋﮫ‬
‫اﻻﺳﻨﺎن‬
poly- many polymerization ‫ﺗﺒﻠﻤﺮ ﻣﺘﻌﺪد‬
Examples of Prefixes Denoting Color
albus- white albumen
chlor-/o- green chlorophyll
erythr-/o- red erythrocyte
leuk-/o- white leukoplakia
melan-/o- black melanoma
Examples of Prefixes Denoting Size or Degree
hyper- over/excess hypertension ‫ارﺗﻔﺎع اﻟﻀﻐﻂ‬
hypo under/below hypotension ‫اﻧﺨﻔﺎض اﻟﻀﻐﻂ‬
macro- large macrodontia ‫ﺿﺨﺎﻣﺔ اﻷﺳﻨﺎن‬
micro- small/minute microbe ‫ﺟﺮﺛﻮﻣﮫ‬
pan- all around panoramic
ultra- extreme/beyond ultrasonic
Examples of Prefixes Denoting Location or Direction
ecto- outside ectopic
endo- within endodontic ‫ﺣﺸﻮات اﻟﺠﺬور‬
epi- upon/over epidermis ‫ﺑﺸﺮة‬
ex/o- out from excretion ‫إﻓﺮاز‬
infra- below infraorbital
para- parenteral near/beside parenteral

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 DENTAL TERMINOLOGY ‫ ﻋﺼﺎم اﻟﺠﻮراﻧﻲ‬.‫د‬


Root Word

A word may have one or more root sections. When a root section is combined or connected
with other word elements, it may take on a combining vowel and become a combining form.
The most common combining vowel is o. For example, the word temporal relates to the
temporal bone in the skull, and the word mandible is the lower jaw bone. Independently, these
are two separate words, but they can be combined to form the word temporomandibular, as in
temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Note that the combining vowel o is inserted in place of the al
in temporal.

Suffix

An element added to the end of a root word or combining form to describe or qualify the word
meaning. Suffix cannot stand-alone and is usually united with a root element by inserting a
combining vowel (o) unless the suffix begins with a vowel. In that case, the combining form
or vowel is dropped. For example, the surgical removal of gum tissue is the meaning of
gingivectomy from the root word gingivo (gum) and suffix ectomy (surgical excision).
Dropping the ending vowel in gingivo and adding ectomy to make gingivectomy unites these
two word elements.

Suffixes Expressing Medical Terms, Processes, Uses

-algia pain odontalgia, neurolagia, myalgia
-ate, -ize use/action vaccinate, luxate, palpate, visualize
-cide kill germicide, homicide
-cyte cell leukocyte, osteocyte
-ectomy surgical removal apicoectomy, appendectomy
-gnosis knowledge prognosis, diagnosis
-ology study of histology, biology
-oma tumor carcinoma
-opsy biopsy, view autopsy
-phobia dread fear claustaphobia
-plasty surgical repair gingivoplasty

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 DENTAL TERMINOLOGY ‫ ﻋﺼﺎم اﻟﺠﻮراﻧﻲ‬.‫د‬

Dental Professionals

Each profession speaks a language of its own, using terms or words connected with its
common procedures, personnel, techniques, and instrumentation. People who are involved
with, use the language of, and participate in each of these occupations are said to be
professionals of that occupation.

Dentist

The dentist, who is a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), a

Doctor of Medical Dentistry (DMD), or BDS bachelor of
dental surgery, diagnoses, performs, and monitors the
dental care of patients. Various specialists, who complete
extended studies, training, and testing, perform the following
specific duties or skills of their particular specialty.

ý Prosthodontist: replaces missing teeth with

artificial appliances such as dental crowns, full
mouth dentures, or partial bridgework.

ý Periodontist: treats diseases of periodontal (gingiva and supporting) tissues.

ý Orthodontist: corrects malocclusion and improper jaw alignment.

ý Pediatric dentist: performs dental procedures for the child patient, also called
pedodontist.

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 DENTAL TERMINOLOGY ‫ ﻋﺼﺎم اﻟﺠﻮراﻧﻲ‬.‫د‬


ý Conservative and or Endodontist: treats the diseased pulp and periradicular
structures.

ý Oral and maxillofacial surgeon: performs surgical treatment of the teeth, jaws, and
related areas.

ý Public health dentist: works on causes and prevention of common

dental diseases and promotes dental health to the community or
general population.

ý Forensic dentist: discovers and uses pathological

evidence for legal proceedings; forensic dentistry is not
yet established as a recognized specialty but is organized
and related to a particular type of dental care.

ý Oral pathologist: studies the nature, diagnosis, and control of oral

diseases.

ý Oral and maxillofacial radiologist: is concerned

with the production and interpretation of radiant
energy images or data regarding the oral and
maxillofacial regions.
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 DENTAL TERMINOLOGY ‫ ﻋﺼﺎم اﻟﺠﻮراﻧﻲ‬.‫د‬

Classification of the Human Dentition

Each human receives two sets of teeth.
The first set or deciduous teeth are
followed by the permanent dentition. The
20 deciduous teeth erupting first are
commonly called “baby teeth” or primary
teeth. The 32 permanent teeth that erupt
and replace the deciduous teeth are
commonly called secondary teeth.

The permanent teeth are also termed

succedaneous because these teeth, with
the exception of the molars, replace the
deciduous teeth when the latter exfoliate (scale off ).

Mixed dentition occurs from age 6 to 16, when the dentition contains both deciduous and
secondary teeth.

Tissue Structure of the Teeth

Although there are four different types of teeth—incisors, canines/cuspids,

premolars/bicuspids, and molars—all teeth possess the same tissue formations, anatomical
basics, and structural landmarks.

Enamel is a hard tooth covering that is 96 percent inorganic. Tooth enamel exhibits a variety
of unique structures and characteristics:

Dentin the main tissue of tooth surrounding the pulp, is less inorganic (70 percent) than
enamel. It is slightly yellow-brown in color and gives bulk to the tooth. Dentin is present in
both the crown and root. Dentin gives shape to the tooth. It is softer than enamel but harder
than the pulp tissue.

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Pulp (soft, vascular tooth tissue) is
found in the center of the tooth. It is
encased in the pulp chamber that is
found in the crown and the pulp canal
located in the root section of the tooth.

Cementum (tissue covering of tooth

root) is approximately 55 percent
inorganic, rough in texture, and meets
the enamel tissue at the cementoenamel
(cement-enamel union) junction that is
located at the neck of the tooth.

Periodontium (tissues surrounding teeth) various tissues collectively called the periodontium
provide the anchorage, support, and protection of the teeth.

Gingiva Also known as gum tissue, the gingiva protects the tooth root and underlying tissues.
It is composed of various epithelial layers, some of which are attached, and some of which are
free gingiva.

Odontology/Morphology

The study of teeth in general is called odontology, while the study of tooth form and shape is
termed morphology.

Characteristics

The dentition shares the following mouth division characteristics and terminology,

Maxillary: upper tooth area; normally the maxilla slightly overlaps the mandible.

Mandibular: lower tooth area; moves up and down to meet the maxillary teeth.

Arch (curved-like or bow-like outline): half of the mouth, either maxillary or mandibular.

Quadrant (one-fourth): half of an arch, right or left, and containing eight teeth.
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 DENTAL TERMINOLOGY ‫ ﻋﺼﺎم اﻟﺠﻮراﻧﻲ‬.‫د‬


Anterior (before or in front of): front area
of the mouth, from canine (cuspid) to canine
(cuspid).

Posterior (toward the rear): area back from

the corners of the mouth, not including the
canine (cuspid) or incisor teeth.

Types of Teeth

The four types of teeth are incisors, cuspids

(canines), premolars (bicuspids), and molars.

Incisors (cutter) are single-rooted anterior teeth with a sharp cutting edge. Maxillary incisors
are larger than mandibular incisors. The central incisor gives character to the face and smile.
The lateral incisors resemble the central but are smaller; the mandibular laterals are wider than
their centrals, while the maxillary centrals are wider than their laterals.

Cuspids are single-rooted anterior teeth at the corner of the mouth; they are also called the
canines. The cuspid is the longest tooth in the mouth and divides the anterior from the
posterior.

Premolars (before a molar) are the fourth and fifth teeth posterior from the center of the
mouth. The maxillary teeth are sometimes called bicuspids because the cusps are large and
well

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 DENTAL TERMINOLOGY ‫ ﻋﺼﺎم اﻟﺠﻮراﻧﻲ‬.‫د‬


defined. The mandibular teeth are called premolars because they resemble a molar in form.
Either name is correct.

Molars (grinding tooth) are the most posterior teeth, excluding the premolars. The maxillary
molar teeth have three roots, termed trifurcation (branching into three parts). The mandibular
molars have two roots, termed bifurcation (branching into two parts). The third molar are
termed “wisdom teeth” because their eruption dates are late, from 17 to 21 years of age
(presumably, when wisdom is supposed to come!).

Tooth Anatomy

The anatomy of the tooth involves a variety of parts;

Crown: the top part of the tooth containing the pulp chamber, dentin, and enamel covering.
The crown is classified in one of two ways:

v Anatomical crown: covered with enamel

and may not be totally visible but will be
present the entire life of tooth.
v Clinical crown: surface visible in the oral
cavity; may not be totally visible for
various reasons.

Root: bottom part of a tooth; may have a single root, be bifurcated into two roots, or as in
the maxillary molar teeth, be trifurcated into three roots.
Cervical line: the place where the enamel of the crown meets the cementum of the root. This
area is called the cementoenamel junction or the cervix (neck) of the tooth.
Apex (the root end): the tip end of a tooth; one apex is at each end of each root tip.

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 DENTAL TERMINOLOGY ‫ ﻋﺼﺎم اﻟﺠﻮراﻧﻲ‬.‫د‬

Dr.Issam M. Abdullah Aljorani

BDS, MSc. Ortho.
[email protected]
2017

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