| dental cuticle | The primary enamel cuticle, consisting of two extremely thin layers (the inner one clear and structureless, the outer one cellular), covering the entire crown of newly erupted teeth and subsequently abraded by mastication; it is evident microscopically as an amorphous material between the attachment epithelium and the tooth. Synonym: cuticula dentis, adamantine membrane, dental cuticle, membrana adamantina, Nasmyth's cuticle, Nasmyth's membrane, skin of teeth. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| dental debonding | <dentistry> Techniques used for removal of bonded orthodontic appliances, restorations, or fixed dentures from teeth. (12 Dec 1998) |
| dental device | <dentistry> Devices used in the home by persons to maintain dental and periodontal health. The devices include toothbrushes, dental flosses, water irrigators, gingival stimulators, etc. (12 Dec 1998) |
| dental disinfectant | <dentistry> Chemicals especially for use on instruments to destroy most pathogenic organisms. (boucher, clinical dental terminology, 4th ed) (12 Dec 1998) |
| dental drill | <apparatus, dentistry> A rotary power-driven instrument into which cutting points may be inserted. See: handpiece. (05 Mar 2000) |
| dental dysfunction | <dentistry> Abnormal functioning of dental structures. (05 Mar 2000) |
| dental enamel | <dentistry> A hard thin translucent layer of calcified substance which envelops and protects the dentin of the crown of the tooth. It is the hardest substance in the body and is almost entirely composed of calcium salts. Under the microscope, it is composed of thin rods (enamel prisms) held together by cementing substance, and surrounded by an enamel sheath. (12 Dec 1998) |
| dental enamel hypoplasia | <dentistry> A form of amelogenesis imperfecta characterised by incomplete formation of the dental enamel and transmitted as an x-linked or autosomal dominant trait. It is also associated with vitamin a, c, or d deficiency, infectious disease, prematurity, birth injury, rh incompatibility, trauma, or local infection. Small grooves, pits, and fissures are seen in mild cases, deep horizontal rows of pits in severe cases, or absence of enamel in extreme cases. (12 Dec 1998) |
| dental enamel permeability | <dentistry> The property of dental enamel to permit passage of light, heat, gases, liquids, metabolites, mineral ions and other substances. It does not include the penetration of the dental enamel by microorganisms. (12 Dec 1998) |
| dental enamel proteins | <dentistry> The proteins that are part of the dental enamel matrix. (12 Dec 1998) |
| dental engineering | <dentistry> Application of engineering principles to dentistry. (05 Mar 2000) |
| dental facilities | Use for material on dental facilities in general or for which there is no specific heading. (12 Dec 1998) |
| dental fibres | <dentistry> The processes of the pulpal cells, the odontoblasts, which extend in radial fashion through the dentin to the dentoenamel junction and are contained within the dentinal tubules. The intertubular fine collagenous fibre's that with the dentinal ground substance infiltrated with calcium salts constitutes the dentinal matrix. Synonym: Tomes' fibres. (05 Mar 2000) |
| dental fissure | <dentistry> Deep grooves or clefts in the surface of teeth equivalent to class 1 cavities in black's classification of dental caries. (12 Dec 1998) |
| dental fistula | <dentistry> A sinus tract originating in a peripheral abscess and opening into the oral cavity on the gingiva. (12 Dec 1998) |