Introduction to Dental Terms

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Introduction to Dental Terms

• By
• Judith A. Porter DDS, EdD

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Basic terms regarding teeth in general
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Okay, okay. WE will talk specifically about
human teeth.
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Teeth on the top are referred to as maxillary
teeth and all of the maxillary teeth are referred
to as the maxillary arch.
Teeth on the bottom are called mandibular
teeth and all of the mandibular teeth are
referred to as the mandibular arch.
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ANTERIOR TEETH
When we talk about anterior teeth, we are
referring to those from the canines (you may have
heard the term eye teeth) forward.
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Anterior teeth have specific names.
The imaginary line between central incisors is
called the Midline.
The four front teeth are incisors two central
incisors and two lateral incisors.
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We often have to be even more specific and will
designate a tooth by not only name, but by
position (arch and left or right always the
patients left or right side.
Maxillary right central incisor
Mandibular left lateral incisor
Midline
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Canines have special names, too!
Maxillary right canine
Maxillary left canine
Mandibular left canine
Mandibular right canine
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Posterior Teeth
Posterior teeth are all those behind the canines.
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Premolars are usually the first two teeth behind
the canines.
Molars are the teeth behind the premolars. They
are larger and have surfaces large enough for
grinding.
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As in the case of anterior teeth, professionals
(we dentists) will talk about posterior teeth
very specifically so were certain we all know
exactly to which tooth were referring!
Maxillary left first premolar
Maxillary right first molar
Mandibular left second molar
Mandibular right second premolar
Remember we always refer to the patients left
or right.
Third molars (or wisdom teeth) are missing from
this picture.
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Lets see how youre doing!!
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2
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Name the teeth indicated as specifically as
possible.
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4
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Answers!!!
1. Maxillary right central incisor 2. Maxillary
left canine 3. Maxillary right first
premolar 4. Mandibular right lateral incisor
5.
Mandibular left second molar
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Basic parts of the teeth
Root apex refers to the tip of the root
Root apices
Root(s)
Crown
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Basic terms regarding tooth surfaces
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Terms Tooth surfaces

• In many professional fields, a new language must
  be learned in order to communicate with other
  professionals.
• It would be difficult for us to refer to a
  specific point on a tooth by merely sayingyou
  knowthe front of the tooth!
• The word front might mean something different
  to each person.

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Terms tooth surfaces

• In order to communicate more effectively and
  precisely with our colleagues, we have therefore
  adopted a rather unique and universal way of of
  directing another professionals attention to a
  very specific place on each tooth.
• The following section begins to explain some of
  these terms.

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Mesial
The term mesial refers to the area of the tooth
closest to or facing the midline.
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The mesial surfaces of these anterior teeth are
marked in yellow. The midline is indicated in red.
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Distal
Distal refers to the surface of the tooth
furthest from the midline.
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Distal surfaces of these anterior teeth are
indicated in green. Mesial and distal surfaces
are also known as proximal surfaces if they face
another tooth.
Midline indicated in red
The distal surfaces of wisdom teeth (or third
molars) are NOT proximal surfaces because there
are no other teeth behind them.
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Usually, the mesial surface of one tooth meets
the distal surface of anotherexcept at the
midline (indicated in red).
Mesial for these maxillary anterior teeth is
marked in yellow and distal in green.
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Facial
The term facial is a general one that refers to
the surface of the tooth nearest the face. More
specific terms are labial (pronounced
lay-bee-ul)that means facing the lips (for
anterior teeth) and buccal(pronounced buck-ul)
that means facing the buccinator muscle of the
cheek (for posterior teeth).
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Facial
Of these facial surfaces, those typically
designated as labial are in orange and those
referred to as buccal are outlined in blue.
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Lingual
Similarly, the surfaces of the teeth nearest the
tongue (you guessed it!) are referred to as the
lingual surfaces. The red ellipse indicates
where the lingual surfaces are found.
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We also talk about a precise spot on a tooth with
directional terms. If a spot is toward the root,
we say it is apical. The opposite end of the
tooth is either referred to as incisal or
occlusal.
The word incisal is used for incisors because
they incise or cut food. The word occlusal is
used for premolars and molars because their
surfaces are broad enough to grind food.
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Lets see how youre doing!
Please match the terms with the correct answer.
1. The surface toward the face 2. The surface
toward the midline 3. The surface nearest the
tongue 4. The surface furthest from the midline

• Mesial
• Distal
• Labial or buccal
• Lingual

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ANSWERS

• C
• A
• D
• B

If these were your answers, youre doing great!!!
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Line Angles
A line angle is a line formed by the junction of
Two Surfaces or planes of a tooth and derives its
name from those two surfaces.
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Line Angles
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Point Angles
Point Angles are defined as a point formed by the
junction of Three Surfaces and derives its name
from those surfaces.
Its difficult from this picture of a single
tooth to tell which is mesial or distal. Dont
worry about that now! This explanation is just to
get the general concept.
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Youll learn many more terms in the language of
dentistry once you get here and we have a chance
to work together.
We like to have suggestions from our students and
this short presentation is a result of
suggestions from last years first-year students.
They felt it would be much more helpful to learn
some terms before you get here so it wont be as
overwhelming in your first two weeks!!
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We hope you enjoyed this short introduction! If
you have any questions, feel free to email me!
Jap002_at_dental.umaryland.edu Enjoy the rest of
your summer!!!