释义 |
dental, a. and n.|ˈdɛntəl| [ad. mod. or ? med.L. dentāl-is, f. dens, dent-em tooth; cf. F. dental (1611 in Cotgr.). Ancient L. had dentāle (in form the neuter of dentālis) = ‘share-beam of a plough’.] A. adj. 1. a. Of or pertaining to the teeth; of the nature of a tooth. dental arch, the arched or curved line of the teeth in the mouth; dental cavity, the natural hollow of a tooth, which is filled by the dental pulp. dental formula, a formula or concise tabular statement of the number and kinds of teeth possessed by a mammal; the numbers in the upper and the lower row are written above and below a horizontal line, like the numerator and denominator of a fraction: see dentition 2.
1599A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 77/2 To vse this, and the other dentalle poulders. 1650Bulwer Anthropomet. Pref., To sway It downwards, and the Dental root display. 1658Sir T. Browne Gard. Cyrus iii. 53 Dentall sockets. 1860Hartwig Sea & Wond. vi. 72 The cetaceans are either without a dental apparatus, or provided with teeth. 1894Times (Weekly ed.) 16 Feb. 133/4 Dental disease..became reduced to a minimum. b. Dealing with the teeth; of or pertaining to dentistry. dental apparatus, dental chair (U.S.), dental chisel, dental drill, dental file, dental forceps, dental hammer, etc., apparatus and instruments used in dentistry. Also dental floss [floss n.2 2], dental silk, floss silk or similar fibrous material used to clean between the teeth. dental surgery (orig. U.S.), dentistry.
1826L. Koecker (title) The principles of dental surgery. 1841G. Waite (title) An appeal to Parliament, the medical profession and the public, on the present state of dental surgery. 1859J. Tomes (title) A system of dental surgery. 1870(title), Dental Diploma Question. 1874Knight Dict. Mech., Dental chisel..drill..file [etc.]. Ibid., Dental pump, an apparatus for withdrawing the saliva from the mouth during dental operations. 1878L. P. Meredith Teeth p. viii, Opening the doors of dental knowledge to the people. 1880‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad xxiii. 222 About five hundred soldiers gathered together in the neighborhood of that dental chair waiting to see the performance. 1887Dental surgery [see surgery 1]. 1890Times 20 Aug. 11/2 A Dental School is attached to the Hospital. 1907Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 507/2 Dental silk— reel, 0/3½; waxed 0/5. 1910Nat. Dent. Hosp. Gaz. IV. xx. 42 Drill a few holes on each side of the fracture and thread them through and across with an ordinary piece of dental floss silk, finishing off with a knot on the lingual surface. 1922Joyce Ulysses 126 He took a reel of dental floss from his waistcoat pocket and..twanged it smartly between two..of his resonant unwashed teeth. 1955Oxf. Jun. Encycl. XI. 98/2 The discovery of anaesthetics was of the greatest importance in the progress of dental surgery. 1971Times 12 Feb. 13/7 The decision of Johnson and Johnson to reintroduce into this country dental floss. c. Engaged in dentistry or dental work, as dental mechanic, an operative who makes and repairs artifical teeth; dental nurse, a nurse who assists a dentist (the term is also applied to a dentist's receptionist); hence dental nursing vbl. n.; dental surgeon (orig. U.S.), a dentist (cf. surgeon-dentist); hence dental surgeoncy; dental technician = dental mechanic.
1840Amer. Jrnl. Dent. Sci. I. 157 The objects of this Society [sc. the Amer. Soc. of Dental Surgeons] are to promote union and harmony among all respectable and well-informed Dental Surgeons. 1860Brit. Jrnl. Dent. Sci. III. 232/2 We, the Court of Examiners, have diligently examined ― and have found him competent to exercise the art and science of a Dental Surgeon. 1881Jrnl. Brit. Dent. Assoc. II. 9 The burden of a Dental Surgeoncy to a Hospital. 1916Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 12 July 3/5 (Advt.), Highly skilled dentists and dental mechanics. 1921Act 11 & 12 Geo. V c. 21 §3 (1) The occupation of a dental mechanic. 1922Joyce Ulysses 571 Dental surgeon Bloom with tweezers. 1938H. R. Cullwick Handbk. for Dent. Nurses 8 The subject of the duties of a dental nurse has been sadly neglected by dental literature in England... The question of a dental nurse having a hospital training is a debatable one. Ibid. 11 Dental nursing as a career. 1961Evening Standard 14 July 19/2 (Advt.), Dental Nurse experienced preferred. Ibid. 17 Aug. 15/1 (Advt.), Dental Technician... Expd. Orthodontics and simple gold work. 2. Phonology. Pronounced by applying the tip of the tongue to the front upper teeth, as the consonants |t, d, θ, ð, n|. In some languages, as in English, t, d, n are not strictly dental, but alveolar; i.e. the contact is with the gum close behind the teeth.
1594T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. ii. 87 The Hebrewes name their letters, some gutturall, because they are pronounced more in the throat: others, dentall, because a man cannot wel pronounce them without the teeth. 1626Bacon Sylva §198. a 1794 Sir W. Jones in Asiat. Res. (1799) I. 12 Each of the dental sounds is hard or soft, sharp or obtuse. 1855Forbes Hindústání Gram. (1868) 5, {ardal} is much softer and more dental than the English d. 1877Sweet Handbk. Phonetics 31–2 This class is commonly called ‘dental’, but the point of the tongue is not necessarily brought against the teeth. B. n. 1. Phonology. A dental consonant.
a1794Sir W. Jones in Asiat. Res. (1799) I. 11 Next came different classes of dentals. 1884American IX. 105 Such a phonetic law does not account for the word under discussion, no dental being present. 2. humorously. A tooth.
1837Landor Pentameron Wks. 1846 II. 344, I would not voluntarily be under his manifold rows of dentals. 3. Arch. = dentil.
1761Kirby Perspect. Architect. 39 From the dentals already drawn the others are to be taken, and also the denticles. 1857Birch Anc. Pottery (1858) II. 195 The abacus red, the dentals yellow, with a red boss. 4. Zool. A mollusc of the genus Dentalium or family Dentaliidæ; a tooth-shell.
1678Phillips, Dental, a small Shelfish..hollow like a little tube, and acuminated. a1728Woodward (J.), The shell of a dental. 5. A sea fish of the Mediterranean, belonging to the genus Dentex.
1753Chambers Cycl. Suppl., Dentale is a name given by some to a fish caught in the Mediterranean, and common in the markets of Italy. a1850Rossetti Dante & Circ. ii. Months Mar., Salmon, eel and trout, Dental and dolphin.
Add:[A.] [1.] [c.] dental hygiene, the preservation or improvement of the health of the teeth and gums, esp. by care on the part of the individual concerned, such as regular brushing.
1884Brit. Jrnl. Dental Sci. XXVII. 649 Without straining a term we may include alike the criterion of health among dental practioners and the health condition of the dentists' rooms, under the heading Dental Hygiene. 1921C. E. Turner Hygiene, Dental & General viii. 155 The recent and rapid development of dental hygiene work among school children has created an opening for dental hygienists. 1992T. F. Walsh et al. Clin. Dental Hygiene iv. 38 The most significant influence on dental hygiene will be the efforts that the patient makes at removing dental plaque deposits. dental hygienist, an ancillary dental worker specializing in dental hygiene, scaling and polishing of teeth, etc.
1916A. C. Fones (title) Mouth hygiene, a course of instruction for dental hygienists. 1920N.Y. Med. Jrnl. 12 June 1025/2 Since the legalizing of dental hygienists by..the State of New York in 1916, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa,..[etc.] have passed similar laws. 1943Evening News 21 May 3/7 A new trade for the W.A.A.F.s is that of dental hygienist... Treatment by the hygienists includes scaling, polishing and cleaning of teeth. 1987N.Y. Times 14 June vii. 14/3 Bartle..falls deeply in love with a young Jewish dental hygienist made pregnant by her employer. |