| enamel fissure | A deep cleft between adjoining cusps affording retention to caries-producing agents. (05 Mar 2000) |
|---|---|
| enamel germ | The enamel organ of a developing tooth; one of a series of knoblike projections from the dental lamina, later becoming bell-shaped and receiving in its hollow the dental papilla. Reserve tooth germ, enamel organ and papilla of a permanent tooth. Tooth germ, the enamel organ and dentin papilla, constituting the developing tooth. Synonym: dental germ. Wheat germ, the embryo of wheat; contains thiamine, riboflavin, and other vitamins. (05 Mar 2000) |
| enamel hypocalcification | A defect of enamel maturation, exacerbated by local, systemic, or hereditary factors, and characterised by low mineral content. A variety of amelogenesis imperfecta. (05 Mar 2000) |
| enamel hypoplasia | A developmental disturbance of teeth characterised by deficient or defective enamel matrix formation; may be hereditary, as in amelogenesis imperfecta, or acquired, as encountered in dental fluorosis, local infection, childhood fevers, and congenital syphilis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| enamel lamella | An organic defect in enamel; a thin, leaflike structure that extends from the enamel surface toward the dentinoenamel junction. (05 Mar 2000) |
| enamel layer | The internal layer of the enamel organ. Synonym: enamel layer. (05 Mar 2000) |
| enamel ledge | dental ledge |
| enamel membrane | The internal layer of the enamel organ formed by the enamel cells. (05 Mar 2000) |
| enamel microabrasion | Mechanical removal of a small amount of tooth structure (not more than a few tenths of a millimeter in depth) to eliminate superficial enamel discoloration defects not successfully removed by bleaching techniques. A common abrasive is a mixture of pumice and hydrochloric acid. (12 Dec 1998) |
| enamel niche | enamel crypt |
| enamel nodule | A developmental anomaly in which there is a small nodule of enamel below the cementoenamel junction, usually at the bifurcation of molar teeth. Synonym: enamel drop, enamel nodule, enamel pearl. (05 Mar 2000) |
| enamel organ | Epithelial cells surrounding the dental papilla and differentiated into three layers: the inner enamel epithelium, consisting of ameloblasts which eventually form the enamel, and the enamel pulp and external enamel epithelium, both of which atrophy and disappear before and upon eruption of the tooth, respectively. (12 Dec 1998) |
| enamel pearl | A developmental anomaly in which there is a small nodule of enamel below the cementoenamel junction, usually at the bifurcation of molar teeth. Synonym: enamel drop, enamel nodule, enamel pearl. (05 Mar 2000) |
| enamel prisms | The calcified, microscopic rods radiating from the surface of the dentin, forming the substance of the enamel of a tooth. Synonym: enamel fibres, enamel prisms, enamel rods. (05 Mar 2000) |
| enamel projection | Extension of enamel into furcation. (05 Mar 2000) |