Sometimes our dentists use words we don’t know the definition to. Of course, if you ask nicely your dentist will gladly explain them to you. For those of you who want to impress your dentist with your dental knowledge and vocabulary, here are a few words you may hear your dentist say.
Abrasion: Tooth wear caused by forces other than chewing such as holding objects between the teeth or improper brushing.
Basic Cleaning: Routine cleaning for a normal amount of plaque build-up. Preventive treatment for patients with healthy gum tissue.
Bleaching: A cosmetic dental procedure that whitens the teeth using a bleaching solution.
Bruxism: Unconscious habit of grinding or clenching of the teeth which often happens when a person is sleeping or during the day.
Cavity: Decay in tooth caused by caries; also referred to as carious lesion.
Clear aligners: Orthodontic devices that uses incremental transparent aligners to adjust teeth as an alternative to dental braces.
Composite: A tooth-colored filling material used to repair or cosmetically enhance teeth that’s made of several types of resin-based substances
Crown: The top part of the natural tooth that’s covered with enamel. Also, a name for the filling that covers the entire natural crown when the tooth has broken down and can't be fixed by a smaller amalgam or composite filling.
DDS: Doctor of Dental Surgery
DMD: Doctor of Dental Medicine
Decay: The lay term for carious lesions in a tooth; decomposition of tooth structure.
Dental floss: Thin strands of string-like material used to clean between the teeth and around the gums.
Dentin: The substance underneath the enamel on the top of a tooth, and under the cementum at the root.
Denture: An artificial substitute for natural teeth and adjacent tissues.
Dry Mouth: The condition of not having enough saliva to keep the mouth wet. If it goes untreated, severe dry mouth can lead to increased levels of tooth decay and infections of the mouth.
Enamel: The hard, calcium-rich surface that covers the crown of a tooth.
Endodontist: A dental specialist who limits his/her practice to treating disease and injuries of the pulp and associated periradicular conditions.
Extraction: The process or act of removing a tooth or tooth parts.
Filling: A lay term used for the restoring of lost tooth structure by using materials such as metal, alloy, plastic or porcelain.
Fracture: The breaking of a part, especially of a bony structure; breaking of a tooth.
Gingiva: Soft tissues overlying the crowns of unerupted teeth and encircling the necks of those that have erupted.
Gingivitis: Inflammation of gingival tissue without loss of connective tissue.
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.
Lesion: An injury or wound; area of diseased tissue.
Lumineers: Thin pieces of porcelain or plastic cemented over the front of your teeth to change their color or shape. Lumineers are used on teeth with uneven surfaces or are chipped, discolored, oddly shaped, unevenly spaced or crooked.
Molar: Teeth posterior to the premolars (bicuspids) on either side of the jaw; grinding teeth, having large crowns and broad chewing surfaces.
Oral: Pertaining to the mouth.
Orthodontist: A dental specialist whose practice is limited to the interception and treatment of malocclusion of the teeth and their surrounding structures.
Palate: The hard and soft tissues forming the roof of the mouth that separates the oral and nasal cavities.
Periodontal: Pertaining to the supporting and surrounding tissues of the teeth.
Periodontal Disease: Inflammatory process of the gingival tissues and/or periodontal membrane of the teeth, resulting in an abnormally deep gingival sulcus, possibly producing periodontal pockets and loss of supporting alveolar bone.
Periodontitis: Inflammation and loss of the connective tissue of the supporting or surrounding structure of teeth with loss of attachment.
Plaque: A soft sticky substance that accumulates on teeth composed largely of bacteria and bacterial derivatives.
Root: The anatomic portion of the tooth that is covered by cementum and is located in the alveolus (socket) where it is attached by the periodontal apparatus; radicular portion of tooth.
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.
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.
Hopefully this list of vocabulary words helped you learn something new today. If you are in the Northridge area, come visit Perfect Smiles with Dr. Barizo. Our Northridge dental practice is focused on providing you high quality service and patient satisfaction. We will do everything we can to meet your expectations. We know you have many choices when choosing a dentist in Northridge, CA. Our goal is to make scheduling easy for you while giving you the best customer care. Making an appointment is easy and can be done via our website. Our staff also pursues ongoing education to stay current within dentistry and customer service. Here at Perfect Smiles Northridge, Dr. Barizo and the team will do whatever possible in order for you to have your best experience while delivering a perfect smile.