Heard a word at your last visit that you did not recognize? Here are more than 100 dental terms in plain English, from abscess to xerostomia, from the team at our Meyerland office in southwest Houston. When a term connects to a treatment, we link to the page that explains it in full. You can browse by topic, jump to a letter, or visit our dental health section for more on caring for your teeth.
Browse Dental Terms by Topic
Implant, abutment, bridge, pontic, denture, bone graft
Gingivitis, periodontitis, scaling, gum recession
Clear aligners, bruxism, occlusion, overbite, retainer
Composite, crown, pulp, root canal treatment
Abscess, avulsed tooth, fracture, dry socket
Bleaching, veneer, dental bonding
A
Abscess Emergencies
A pocket of pus from a bacterial infection, at the tip of a tooth root or in the gums. It will not clear up on its own, so call us if you notice swelling or throbbing pain.
Abutment Implants & Tooth Replacement
The tooth or implant post that anchors a bridge or a denture.
Amalgam Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
A silver-colored filling material made from a blend of metals.
Anesthetic Visits & Comfort
Medicine that numbs an area so you do not feel pain during treatment.
Anterior Tooth Anatomy
Toward the front of the mouth. Your anterior teeth are the ones that show when you smile.
Apex Tooth Anatomy
The tip of a tooth root, deep in the jawbone.
Asepsis Visits & Comfort
Keeping germs away during treatment, with sterilized instruments and clean surfaces.
Attrition Tooth Anatomy
Gradual wear on the biting surfaces of your teeth from chewing or grinding.
Avulsed tooth Emergencies
A tooth knocked completely out of its socket. Keep it moist, ideally in milk, and call us right away.
B
Bitewing X-ray Visits & Comfort
An X-ray taken while you bite down on a small tab. It shows cavities between your back teeth and the bone level around them.
Bone graft Implants & Tooth Replacement
Material placed in the jaw to rebuild bone so it can support a dental implant.
Bridge Implants & Tooth Replacement
A fixed replacement for one or more missing teeth, held in place by the teeth or implants on either side.
Bruxism Bite & Aligners
Grinding or clenching your teeth, often while you sleep.
Dr. Tummala will explain your options in plain language at your visit.
C
Canine Tooth Anatomy
The pointed tooth at each corner of your smile. You have four, and they have the longest roots of any teeth.
Canker sore Visits & Comfort
A small, painful, shallow sore inside the mouth with a white or yellow center and a red edge. Canker sores are not contagious and usually heal in one to two weeks.
Cast Visits & Comfort
A model of your teeth made from an impression, used to plan or make a restoration.
Cementation Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
Bonding a crown, bridge or other restoration onto your tooth.
Chlorhexidine Gum Health
An antibacterial rinse or gel sometimes used to help control gum disease.
Clasp Implants & Tooth Replacement
A small metal arm on a removable partial denture that grips a natural tooth to hold the denture in place.
Clear aligners Bite & Aligners
A series of clear, removable trays that move your teeth a little at a time. You switch to a new tray every week or two.
Cold sore Visits & Comfort
A blister on or near the lip caused by the herpes simplex virus. Cold sores are contagious while they are active.
Composite Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
Tooth-colored filling material, matched to the shade of your teeth.
Crossbite Bite & Aligners
A bite where some upper teeth sit inside the lower teeth when you close, instead of just outside them.
Crown Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
A cap that covers a damaged or weakened tooth to restore its shape, strength and look. Crowns can be porcelain, metal or a mix of both.
D
Decay Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
Damage to a tooth caused by acids that plaque bacteria make. Caught early, it can be treated with a small filling.
Dental bonding Cosmetic
Tooth-colored resin shaped onto a tooth to repair a chip or close a small gap.
Dentistry Visits & Comfort
The branch of health care that prevents, diagnoses and treats problems with the teeth, gums and mouth.
Dentition Tooth Anatomy
The type, number and position of the teeth in your mouth.
Denture Implants & Tooth Replacement
A removable set of replacement teeth. A full denture replaces all the teeth in an arch; a partial denture fills gaps between natural teeth.
Desensitization Visits & Comfort
Treatment that reduces tooth sensitivity to hot, cold or sweet foods.
Diagnosis Visits & Comfort
Identifying a dental problem from your exam, X-rays and symptoms.
Diastema Bite & Aligners
A gap between two teeth, most often between the upper front teeth.
Distal Tooth Anatomy
The side of a tooth that faces away from the middle of your mouth.
Dry socket Emergencies
A painful condition after an extraction when the blood clot in the socket comes loose too early. Call us if pain gets worse a few days after a tooth is removed.
E
Edentulous Implants & Tooth Replacement
Having no natural teeth, in one arch or both. Implants, bridges and dentures can all replace missing teeth.
Enamel Tooth Anatomy
The hard outer layer of a tooth, the strongest tissue in the body.
Endodontics Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
The area of dentistry that treats the pulp inside a tooth, including root canal treatment.
Eruption Tooth Anatomy
A tooth coming in through the gums.
Excision Visits & Comfort
Removing tissue, for example a small growth in the mouth.
Extraction Emergencies
Removing a tooth that cannot be saved or that is blocking other teeth.
Extruded tooth Emergencies
A tooth pushed partly out of its socket by an injury. Call us right away.
F
Filling Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
Material that repairs a tooth after decay is removed, restoring its shape and function.
Flipper Implants & Tooth Replacement
A lightweight temporary partial denture that fills a gap while you wait for a permanent replacement, such as an implant.
Floss Visits & Comfort
Thin thread or tape you slide between your teeth to clean where a brush cannot reach.
Fluoride Visits & Comfort
A mineral that strengthens tooth enamel and helps prevent cavities. It is in most toothpaste and in many cities' water.
Fluoride treatment Visits & Comfort
A fluoride gel or varnish applied in the office to help protect teeth from decay.
Fracture Emergencies
A crack or break in a tooth. Some are small; a crack that reaches the root may need a crown or root canal.
Framework Implants & Tooth Replacement
The metal base of a removable partial denture that holds the replacement teeth.
G
Gingivitis Gum Health
The earliest stage of gum disease. Your gums look red, feel tender and bleed when you brush or floss.
Gum recession Gum Health
Gums pulling back from the teeth, which exposes the roots and can make teeth sensitive.
H
Hemorrhage Visits & Comfort
Heavy bleeding.
Hemostasis Visits & Comfort
Stopping bleeding, for example after an extraction.
I
Impaction Tooth Anatomy
A tooth that cannot come in normally because it is blocked by another tooth, bone or gum. Wisdom teeth are the most common.
Implant Implants & Tooth Replacement
A small titanium post placed in the jawbone that holds a crown, bridge or denture in place of a missing tooth.
Impression Visits & Comfort
A mold of your teeth, taken with a soft material in a tray or with a digital scanner.
Incisal Tooth Anatomy
The biting edge of a front tooth.
Incisor Tooth Anatomy
Your eight front teeth, four upper and four lower, used for biting into food.
Inlay Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
A lab-made restoration of porcelain, composite or gold that fits inside the top of a tooth like a puzzle piece.
Interproximal Tooth Anatomy
The surfaces where two neighboring teeth touch. Cavities here are found with bitewing X-rays and prevented with flossing.
L
Laser dentistry Gum Health
Using a focused dental laser to treat the gums and teeth. Ask us whether it is an option for your treatment.
Lingual Tooth Anatomy
The side of a tooth that faces your tongue.
M
Mesial Tooth Anatomy
The side of a tooth that faces the middle of your mouth.
Molar Tooth Anatomy
The wide, flat teeth at the back of your mouth that grind food. Most adults have twelve, including the wisdom teeth.
Mouthguard Bite & Aligners
A device you wear over your teeth to protect them during sports or from grinding.
N
Night guard Bite & Aligners
A mouthguard worn while you sleep to protect your teeth from grinding and clenching.
O
Occlusal Tooth Anatomy
The chewing surface of your back teeth.
Occlusion Bite & Aligners
The way your upper and lower teeth meet when you close your mouth.
Onlay Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
A lab-made restoration that covers one or more of the raised points (cusps) of a tooth. Bigger than an inlay, smaller than a crown.
Open bite Bite & Aligners
A bite where some upper and lower teeth do not touch when you close your mouth.
Orthodontics Bite & Aligners
The area of dentistry that straightens teeth and corrects how they bite together, with braces or clear aligners.
Overbite Bite & Aligners
How far your upper front teeth overlap your lower front teeth when you close. A small overlap is normal.
Overhang Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
Extra filling material that sticks out past the edge of a tooth. It can trap plaque, so it is usually smoothed or replaced.
P
Palate Tooth Anatomy
The roof of your mouth.
Panoramic X-ray Visits & Comfort
A single wide X-ray that shows all your teeth, both jaws and the joints in one image.
Perforation Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
A small opening through a tooth or other tissue in the mouth.
Periapical Tooth Anatomy
The area around the tip of a tooth root. A periapical X-ray shows the whole tooth from crown to root.
Periodontics Gum Health
The area of dentistry that prevents and treats gum disease.
Periodontitis Gum Health
Advanced gum disease that damages the bone and tissue holding your teeth. It can lead to loose teeth if it is not treated.
Permanent teeth Tooth Anatomy
Your adult teeth. The first ones usually come in around age 6.
Pin Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
A tiny metal post that helps hold a large filling in place.
Plaque Visits & Comfort
A sticky film of bacteria that forms on teeth every day. Brushing and flossing remove it.
Polish Visits & Comfort
Smoothing and brightening teeth or a restoration at the end of a cleaning or treatment.
Pontic Implants & Tooth Replacement
The replacement tooth in a bridge that fills the gap.
Post Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
A small rod placed in the root of a treated tooth to help hold a buildup and crown.
Posterior Tooth Anatomy
Toward the back of the mouth.
Pre-authorization Visits & Comfort
An estimate your insurance company reviews before treatment, to confirm what your plan may cover.
Pre-medication Visits & Comfort
Medicine some patients take before treatment, such as an antibiotic, when their doctor recommends it.
Premolar Tooth Anatomy
The teeth between your canines and molars, also called bicuspids.
Prescription Visits & Comfort
A written order from a dentist for a medicine, or for a lab to make a crown, denture or other appliance.
Prophylaxis Visits & Comfort
A professional teeth cleaning that removes plaque and tartar to help prevent gum disease and decay.
Prosthesis Implants & Tooth Replacement
Any replacement for missing teeth, such as a crown, bridge, denture or implant.
Prosthodontics Implants & Tooth Replacement
The area of dentistry focused on restoring and replacing teeth.
Pulp Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
The soft center of a tooth that holds its nerves and blood vessels.
Pulpectomy Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
Removing all of the pulp from a tooth, usually in a baby tooth.
Pulpotomy Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
Removing only the top part of the pulp, often in a baby tooth, to keep the rest healthy.
R
Retainer Bite & Aligners
A custom appliance worn after braces or aligners to keep your teeth from shifting back.
Root canal treatment Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
Removing infected or inflamed pulp from inside a tooth, then cleaning and sealing it so you can keep the tooth.
S
Scaling Gum Health
Removing hardened plaque (tartar) from the teeth, including below the gumline.
Sealant Fillings, Crowns & Root Canals
A thin protective coating painted onto the grooves of back teeth to help keep out cavities.
Sedation Visits & Comfort
Medicine that helps you feel calm and relaxed during treatment.
Space maintainer Bite & Aligners
An appliance that holds open the space left by a lost baby tooth until the adult tooth comes in.
Splint Emergencies
An appliance that holds loose or injured teeth steady while they heal.
T
Tartar (calculus) Gum Health
Plaque that has hardened on the teeth. Only a professional cleaning removes it.
Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) Bite & Aligners
The joint in front of each ear that connects your lower jaw to your skull and lets you open, close and chew.
Torus Tooth Anatomy
A harmless bony bump on the roof of the mouth or inside the lower jaw.
V
Veneer Cosmetic
A thin shell of porcelain or composite bonded to the front of a tooth to improve its color or shape.
W
Wisdom tooth Tooth Anatomy
The last molar at the very back on each side, top and bottom. They usually come in between ages 17 and 25, if they come in at all.
X
Xerostomia Visits & Comfort
Dry mouth. It can raise your risk of cavities, so let us know if your mouth often feels dry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between gingivitis and periodontitis?
Gingivitis is the earliest stage of gum disease. Your gums are red and bleed easily, but the bone holding your teeth is not yet affected. Periodontitis is the advanced stage, where the infection has started to damage that bone. Gingivitis can often be reversed with a professional cleaning and better brushing and flossing; periodontitis needs gum treatment to bring it under control.
Is a crown the same as a cap?
Yes. "Cap" is the everyday word for a crown. Both mean a restoration that covers the whole visible part of a tooth to protect it and restore its shape.
What should I do if I do not understand a term on my treatment plan?
Ask us. At your visit, Dr. Tummala or a team member will explain each part of your plan in plain language before you agree to anything. You can also call our Meyerland office at 713-723-7200.
Call our Meyerland office and we will walk you through it.