periodontiumn.

1876 T. Bryant Pract. Surg. (ed. 2) I. xiii. 535 The ‘alveolo-dental membrane’, or ‘periodontum’,..invests the root of the tooth and lines the bony socket.

1881 T. E. Satterthwaite Man. Histol. viii. 108 The development of the cement takes place precisely as bone is produced, viz., from the periosteum, or..from the fibrous tissue of the tooth-sac, the periodontium.

1927 O. E. Inglis Burchard's Text-bk. Dental Pathol. & Therapeutics (ed. 7) xvi. 536 All those tissues which invest the teeth including the pericementum,..the alveolar process and the gingivae, particularly the marginal and cemental gingivae are now generally understood as included in the term periodontium.

1940 H. K. Box Twelve Periodontal Stud. ii. 29 In 1920, the writer first used the term ‘periodontium’ to designate the supporting tissues of the teeth, and to embrace as the three essential tissue-components, the gingivae, the periodontal membrane, and alveolar process. As the word ‘periodontium’ was occasionally used to denote the periodontal membrane, it was felt that the usage of the term in this new sense would make for exactness in terminology.

1971 Internat. Dental Jrnl. 21 8 (title) The effects of controlled oral hygiene on the human adult periodontium.

2002 Microscopy Res. & Technique 59 449 Mammalian periodontia are characterized by a gomphosis, an attachment of the tooth root in the alveolar bone socket via periodontal ligament fibers.