Everything about Commonly Used Terms Of Relationship And Comparison In Dentistry totally explained
There are numerous
commonly used terms of relationship and comparison that refer to different aspects of teeth and are frequently utilized in articles about
dentistry. Many of them are included below as a sort of
glossary to assist with understanding the many articles that include
these types of words.
Terms
Anterior refers to the direction towards an individuals lips, as opposed to
posterior, which refers to the directions towards the back of an individual's head. The term
anterior teeth refers to
incisors and
canines.
Apical refers to the direction towards the root tip(s) of a tooth, as opposed to
coronal, which refers to the direction towards the crown. It may also refer to something relating to the roots, such as
apical support. This term is nearly synonymous with both
cervical and
gingival.
Axial refers to a
plane parallel to the surface of a tooth. For example, if a drill bur would be inserted into a tooth from any side (
proximal,
facial or
lingual, the depth of the hole is defined by the axial wall of the hole.
Buccal refers to the side of a tooth that's adjacent to (or the direction towards) the inside of the
cheek, as opposed to
lingual or
palatal, which refer to the side of a tooth adjacent to (or the direction towards) the
tongue or
palate, respectively. Although technically referring only to posterior teeth (where the cheeks are present instead of lips, use of this term may extend to all teeth, anterior and posterior), this term may be employed to describe the
facial surface of (or directions in relation to) anterior teeth as well.
Cervical, which simply means
neck in
Latin (as in
cervical vertebrae), refers to the narrowing of the contours of the tooth surface at or near the
CEJ, where the crown meets the root. When referring to direction in relation to entities on or of the crown, it's nearly synonymous with both
apical and
gingival.
Coronal refers to the direction towards the crown of a tooth, as opposed to
apical, which refers to the direction towards the tip(s) of the root(s). It may also refer to something relating to the crown, such as
coronal forces.
Distal refers to the direction towards the last tooth in each quadrant of a dental arch, as opposed to
mesial, which refers to the direction towards the anterior
midline. Each tooth can be described as having a distal surface and, for
posterior teeth, a
distobuccal (DB) and a
distolingual (DL) corner or
cusp.
Facial refers to the side of a tooth that's adjacent to (or the direction towards) the inside of the
cheek or
lips, as opposed to
lingual or
palatal, which refer to the side of a tooth adjacent to (or the direction towards) the
tongue or
palate, respectively. This term is an
umbrella term for both the term
buccal and
labial.
Gingival refers to the direction towards the
gingiva, synonymous with
cervical and similar to apical. However, locations on teeth already more
apical to the interface of the crown and root, referred to as the
CEJ, tend not to be described using this term, as it would lead to confusion, as the exact definition is ambiguous. Additionally, this term wouldn't be used when referring to a tooth
ex vivo.
Incisal refers either to the direction towards the biting edge of
anterior teeth or to something relating to this edge, such as the terms
incisal guidance or
incisal edge. This is the sister term to
occlusal, which related to the analogous location on
posterior teeth.
Inferior, as usual, refers to the direction towards the feet of an human's body, as opposed to
superior, which refers to the direction towards the head. However, use of these terms should enjoy only limited usage when discussing features of a tooth, as, for example, something more inferior on a
mandibular tooth will be situated more superior on a
maxillary tooth, as they exhibit an inverted relationship. It is for this reason that the terms
coronal an
apical are substituted.
Labial refers to the side of a tooth that's adjacent to (or the direction towards) the inside of the
lip, as opposed to
lingual or
palatal, which refer to the side of a tooth adjacent to (or the direction towards) the
tongue or
palate, respectively. Although technically referring only to anterior teeth (where the lips are present instead of cheeks, use of the term
buccal may extend to all teeth, anterior and posterior.)
Lingual refers to the side of a tooth adjacent to (or the direction towards) the tongue, as opposed to
buccal,
labial or
facial which refer to the side of a tooth adjacent to (or the direction towards) the inside of the cheek or lips, respectively. Although this term is technically specific to the
mandible, it enjoys extensive use in reference to the
maxilla as well.
Mandibular refers to entities related to the
mandible.
Marginal may be used to refer to a number of different 'margins' that are involved in dentistry. The edge of tooth structure that's prepared to meet the edge of a prosthetic
crown is called a margin, as is the aforementioned edge of the crown; an example of this usage would be "a poorly fitting crown might exhibit
marginal leakage." The
gingiva and
bone that abut the teeth are referred to as 'marginal', as in
marginal periodontitis. The bulk of tooth structure on the
occlusal surface at the point of contact of posterior teeth is referred to as the
marginal ridge.
Maxillary refers to entities related to the
maxilla.
Mesial refers to the direction towards the anterior
midline is a dental arch, as opposed to
distal, which refers to the direction towards the last tooth in each quadrant. Each tooth can be described as having a mesial surface and, for
posterior teeth, a
mesiobuccal (MB) and a
mesiolingual (MB) corner or
cusp.
Occlusal refers either to the direction towards the biting surface of
posterior teeth or to something relating to this surface, such as the terms
occlusal interference or
occlusal surface. This is the sister term to
incisal, which related to the analogous location on
anterior teeth. Restorations are designated by their location on a tooth, and abbreviated as such. Thus, for example, an
amalgam restoration on the distal-occlusal of a tooth would be termed a
DO amalgam.
Palatal refers to the side of a tooth adjacent to (or the direction towards) the
palate, as opposed to
buccal,
labial or
facial which refer to the side of a tooth adjacent to (or the direction towards) the inside of the cheek or lips, respectively. This term is strictly used in the
maxilla.
Posterior refers to the direction towards the back of an individual's head, as opposed to
anterior, which refers to the directions towards an individuals lips. The term
posterior teeth refers to
premolars and
molars.
Proximal is an
umbrella term which includes both
mesial and
distal, such as when referring to the
proximal surfaces of teeth.
Superior, as usual, refers to the direction towards the head of an human's body, as opposed to
inferior, which refers to the direction towards the feet. However, use of these terms should enjoy only limited usage when discussing features of a tooth, as, for example, something more superior on a
mandibular tooth will be situated more inferior on a
maxillary tooth, as they exhibit an inverted relationship. It is for this reason that the terms
coronal and
apical are substituted.
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