Oral Health Care: A Whole New Language
Course Number: 21
Course Contents
Terms D-L
Debridement
The removal of a foreign material, such as calculus or plaque, or removal of necrotic (dead) tissue from or adjacent to a lesion.
Very commonly this term is used for a goal in nonsurgical periodontal instrumentation.
Dental Caries
(Carious Lesion)
Tooth decay, which is actually an infection that causes continuing destruction of tooth structure
A dental cavity
Caries is both singular and plural; one caries or two caries.
Dentifrice
Toothpaste
Dentition
The teeth in the dental arches – top and bottom.
Diastema
Open contact between teeth.
Typically occurs between the upper front teeth, the maxillary central incisors
Distal
Away from the middle; often used to describe the side of a particular tooth that is closest to the posterior or back of the mouth.
Disto-occlusal (DO)
Usually refers to dental caries or a restoration located at the distal and extending onto the occlusal or chewing surface.
Edema
Swelling
Edentulous
Lacking teeth
Can be area specific or the whole mouth
Enamel
The hard, outer surface layer of teeth
Protects against tooth decay
Tooth enamel is considered the hardest mineral substance in your body, even stronger than bone.
Explorer
A slender, flexible instrument with a sharp point used to examine teeth for abnormalities and pathology, and to locate calculus through the use of touch.
Excellent tactile sensitivity must be developed to use an explorer well.
Extraction
The removal of a tooth or root fragment.
Exudate
A fluid of epithelial cells, bacteria, serum, and other products of the inflammatory process.
A polite word for pus.
Facial
Of or toward the face, used to designate the side of the tooth that is facing away from the tongue side.
The buccal and labial are both facial surfaces.
Frenum
A narrow fold of tissue connecting moveable tissue to a more fixed tissue to prevent undue movement.
Singular form is frenum or frenulum. Plural is frena
Furcation
The concave area between the roots of a multi-rooted tooth.
It is called “bifurcation” if a tooth has two roots.
It is called “trifurcation” if a tooth has three roots.
Gingiva
That part of the oral masticatory mucosa that surrounds the necks of the teeth and is attached to the teeth and the alveolar bone.
You probably know it better as the gum!
Halitosis/Oral Malodor
Bad breath
Iatrogenic
Adverse factors caused by a health care practitioner that result in a negative outcome for the patient.
Incisal
Toward the cutting edge of anterior teeth
Incisors
Anterior teeth
The 2 large front teeth (central incisors) and the tooth on either side (lateral incisors)
There are 8 incisors, 4 maxillary and 4 mandibular
Inferior
Below or lower than a specified point of reference
Interdental Papilla
Gingiva (gum tissue) that fills the space between two adjacent teeth (the space is called interproximal).
Papilla is usually pointed or pyramidal in anterior teeth and somewhat flatter between posterior teeth. If teeth overlap papilla, it may be tapered and narrow; if teeth do not touch, the papilla may be flat or saddle-shaped.
There are actually 2 papillae in teeth that contact, one facial and one lingual, which are connected by the col.
Junctional Epithelium (JE)
Attachment epithelium, where the tooth and gingiva actually first begin to be attached.
Found at the very bottom of the gingival sulcus or periodontal pocket.
Think of it like the place in the bottom your pants pocket where you’d find loose change …or lint!
Labial
Of or toward the lips, used most often to designate the side of the tooth facing the lips, so the term would refer to an anterior tooth.
Lateral
Toward the side
Lingual
Of or toward the tongue, to identify the surface of a tooth that faces the tongue.