dentaladj.n.
/ˈdɛntəl/ A. adj.
1.
a. Of or pertaining to the teeth; of the nature of a tooth. dental arch n. the arched or curved line of the teeth in the mouth. dental cavity n. the natural hollow of a tooth, which is filled by the dental pulp. dental formula n. 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 n. 2. dental papilla n. Anatomy a projection of mesenchymal tissue into the embryonic enamel organ which gives rise to odontoblasts.
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the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > mouth > tooth or teeth > [adjective]
dental1599
odontic1657
teethy1805
dentar1828
dentary1830
dentigerous1839
1599 A. M. tr. O. Gaebelkhover Bk. Physicke 77/2 To vse this, and the other dentalle poulders.
1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis Pref. To sway It downwards, and the Dental root display.
1658 Sir T. Browne Garden of Cyrus iii, in Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall 141 Dentall sockets.
1854 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 15 305 The performative membrane of the dental papilla.
1860 G. Hartwig tr. Sea & its Living Wonders vi. 72 The cetaceans are either without a dental apparatus, or provided with teeth.
1894 Times (Weekly ed.) 16 Feb. 133/4 Dental disease..became reduced to a minimum.
1980 Gray's Anat. (ed. 36) viii. 1293/2 The roughly spherical dental papilla increases in volume, but the cervical loop of the growing enamel organ continues to encompass a greater proportion of its periphery.
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 (originally U.S.), dentistry.
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the world > health and disease > healing > dentistry > [noun]
dental surgery1826
dentology1835
dentistry1838
gum-digging1932
the world > health and disease > healing > dentistry > [adjective]
dentical1776
dental1826
dentistical1851
dentistic1895
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > cleaning or cleanliness of the person > [noun] > cleaning the teeth > implements for
picker1481
toothpick1488
picktooth1542
tooth-picker1545
tooth-scrape1552
pick1562
tooth-rake1585
tooth-scraper1585
teeth-brush1651
dentiscalp1656
toothbrush1690
quill toothpick1775
quill1785
chew-stick1858
tooth-stick1859
dental silk1907
dental floss1922
floss1936
airbrasive1945
Water Pik1962
water toothpick1965
1826 L. Koecker (title) The principles of dental surgery.
1841 G. Waite (title) An appeal to Parliament, the medical profession and the public, on the present state of dental surgery.
1859 J. Tomes (title) A system of dental surgery.
1870 (title) Dental Diploma Question.
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Dental chisel..drill..file [etc.].
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Dental pump, an apparatus for withdrawing the saliva from the mouth during dental operations.
1878 L. P. Meredith Teeth (ed. 2) p. viii Opening the doors of dental knowledge to the people.
1880 ‘M. Twain’ Tramp Abroad xxiii. 223 About five hundred soldiers gathered together in the neighborhood of that dental chair waiting to see the performance.
1887 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 22 Jan. 166/2 Dental Surgery.
1890 Times 20 Aug. 11/2 A Dental School is attached to the Hospital.
1907 Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 507/2 Dental silk— reel, 0/3½; waxed 0/5.
1910 Nat. 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.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. vii. [Aeolus] 123 He took a reel of dental floss from his waistcoat pocket and..twanged it smartly between two..of his resonant unwashed teeth.
1955 Oxf. Junior Encycl. XI. 98/2 The discovery of anaesthetics was of the greatest importance in the progress of dental surgery.
1971 Times 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 n. an operative who makes and repairs artifical teeth. dental moulder n. one who moulds artificial teeth for dentures. dental nurse n. a nurse who assists a dentist (the term is also applied to a dentist's receptionist); hence dental nursing n. dental surgeon n. originally U.S. a dentist (cf. surgeon-dentist at surgeon n. Compounds 1); hence dental surgeoncy. dental technician n. = dental mechanic n.
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the world > health and disease > healing > dentistry > [noun] > dentist
tooth-drawer1393
operator1598
dentist1759
dentologist1760
tooth-doctor1767
odontist1819
tooth-puller1839
dental surgeon1840
gum-digger1941
the world > health and disease > healing > dentistry > [noun] > denture > dental mechanic
dental mechanic1916
dental technician1961
denturist1964
1840 Amer. Jrnl. Dent. Sci. 1 157 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.
1860 Brit. Jrnl. Dent. Sci. 3 232/2 We, the Court of Examiners, have diligently examined —— and have found him competent to exercise the art and science of a Dental Surgeon.
1881 Jrnl. Brit. Dent. Assoc. 2 9 The burden of a Dental Surgeoncy to a Hospital.
1916 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 12 July 3/5 (advt.) Highly skilled dentists and dental mechanics.
1921 Act 11 & 12 Geo. V c. 21 §3 (1) The occupation of a dental mechanic.
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) § 118 Dental moulder.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xv. [Circe] 545 Dental surgeon Bloom with tweezers.
1938 H. 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.
1938 H. R. Cullwick Handbk. for Dent. Nurses 11 Dental nursing as a career.
1961 Evening Standard 14 July 19/2 (advt.) Dental Nurse experienced preferred.
1961 Evening Standard 17 Aug. 15/1 (advt.) Dental Technician... Expd. Orthodontics and simple gold work.
2. Phonetics. 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.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > speech sound by place or organ > [adjective] > dental
dental1594
linguadental1668
labiodental1669
linguodental1818
interdental1877
postdental1889
lamino-dental1968
1594 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French 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.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §198.
a1794 Sir W. Jones in Asiatic Researches (London ed.) (1799) 1 12 Each of the dental sounds is hard or soft, sharp or obtuse.
1855 D. Forbes Hindústání Gram. (1868) 5 ﺩ is much softer and more dental than the English d.
1877 H. Sweet Handbk. Phonetics 31–2 This class is commonly called ‘dental’, but the point of the tongue is not necessarily brought against the teeth.
3. Provided or fitted with toothed projections.
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1850 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Patents 1849: Arts & Manuf. 312 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (31st Congr., 1st Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc. 20, Pt. 1) VI The application of a dental faced crushing side f to a hopper.
B. n.
1. Phonetics. A dental consonant.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > speech sound by place or organ > [noun] > dental
dentala1794
linguodental1818
postdental1889
interdental1953
a1794 Sir W. Jones in Asiatic Researches (London ed.) (1799) 1 11 Next came different classes of dentals.
1884 American 9 105 Such a phonetic law does not account for the word under discussion, no dental being present.
2. humorously. A tooth.
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the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > mouth > tooth or teeth > [noun]
teetha900
munpinsc1475
gams1508
peg1598
tusk1632
masticator1681
headrail1767
ivory1783
tombstone1809
dominos1828
dental1837
toothy-peg1840
fang1841
cruncher1859
chomper1884
teg1886
Hampstead Heath1887
pearly1914
gnasher1919
tat1919
pearly whites1935
chopper1937
1837 W. S. Landor Pentameron in Wks. (1846) II. 344 I would not voluntarily be under his manifold rows of dentals.
3. Architecture. = dentil n.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > column > [noun] > entablature > cornice > dentil
denticule1563
dentil1663
denticle1674
denting1730
dental1761
dentel1842
1761 J. Kirby Perspective of Archit. i. iv. 39 From the dentals already drawn the others are to be taken, and also the denticles.
1857 S. Birch Hist. Anc. Pottery (1858) II. 195 The abacus red, the dentals yellow, with a red boss.
4. Zoology. A mollusc of the genus Dentalium or family Dentaliidæ; a tooth-shell.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Scaphopoda > [noun] > member of genus Dentalium
hake's tooth1584
antal1657
dental1678
tooth-shell?1711
tusk-shell1825
dentalium1864
tusk1916
1678 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) Dental, a small Shelfish..hollow like a little tube, and acuminated.
a1728 J. Woodward Attempt Nat. Hist. Fossils Eng. (1729) 23 The Shell of a Dentale.
5. A sea fish of the Mediterranean, belonging to the genus Dentex.
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the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Sparidae (sea-breams) > [noun] > member of family Denticidae (Kapenaar) > member of genus Dentex
dental1753
dentex1836
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Dentale is a name given by some to a fish caught in the Mediterranean, and common in the markets of Italy.
a1850 D. G. Rossetti Dante & Circle ii. Months Mar. Salmon, eel and trout, Dental and dolphin.
Draft additions 1997
dental hygiene n. 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.
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the world > health and disease > [noun] > science or study of > of teeth or gums
dental hygiene1884
1884 Brit. Jrnl. Dental Sci. 27 649 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.
1921 C. 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.
1992 T. 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.
Draft additions 1997
dental hygienist n. an ancillary dental worker specializing in dental hygiene, scaling and polishing of teeth, etc.
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the world > health and disease > healing > dentistry > [noun] > dentist > dental hygienist
dental hygienist1916
1916 A. C. Fones (title) Mouth hygiene, a course of instruction for dental hygienists.
1920 N.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.
1943 Evening 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.
1987 N.Y. Times 14 June vii. 14/3 Bartle..falls deeply in love with a young Jewish dental hygienist made pregnant by her employer.
Draft additions June 2013
dental implant n. a device attached to or (now typically) implanted into the jawbone to support a dental restoration such as a crown or denture.
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1944 U.S. Patent 2,347,567 1/2 In order to illustrate one specific use of the material that forms the subject of this invention a dental implant constructed therefrom will be described.
1973 Jrnl. Dentistry 1 149 At present the clinical situation of dental implants is thoroughly unsatisfactory and there is a great need for extensive research.
1992 Mature Times Monthly Oct. 12/6 These dental implants are placed in the jaw, under local anaesthetic at the surgery, and left for six months to integrate with the bone.
2010 N.Y. Times Mag. 21 Nov. 37/5 (advt.) Compared to other treatment options to replace missing teeth, such as bridges and removable partials, a dental implant..offers a long-lasting solution.
Draft additions January 2011
dental dam n. = dam n.1 4e; (in later use also) an unpunctured latex rubber sheet of this type, used as a protective barrier to prevent transmission of disease during oral sex.
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1875 U.S. Patent 159,836 16 Feb. Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved reflector shown as applied to a dental-dam clamp.
1920 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 31 92 Ordinary dental dam is used for the membrane.
1986 N.Y. Times 3 Nov. c15/6 It was advised that condoms or dental dams be used for oral sex. The dams are inexpensive disposable latex barriers that are available from surgical and dental supply houses.
1996 Los Angeles Times 3 May b5 A lecturer suggested that a condom, a dental dam or plastic wrap should be used as protection.
2000 Guardian 9 May ii. 9/3 Removal of fillings exposes the body to an intense dose of toxins, even when properly carried out using specialised suction equipment and dental dams.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.1594