Ch.11 - Overview of the Dentitions Key terms
Concave
Curved inward.
Convex
Curved outward.
Maxillary
The upper jaw.
Contact area
Area of the mesial or distal surface of a tooth that touches the adjacent tooth in the same arch.
Functional occlusion
Contact of the teeth during biting and chewing movements.
Curve of Wilson
Cross-arch curvature of the occlusal plane.
Apical third
Division of the root nearest the tip of the root.
Labial surface
Facial surface closest to the lips.
Line angle
Junction of two walls in a cavity preparation.
Buccolingual Division
Lengthwise division of the crown in a labial or buccolingual direction, consisting of the facial or buccal/labial third, middle third, and lingual third.
Succedaneous teeth
Permanent teeth that replace primary teeth.
Facial surface
Tooth surface closest to the face. Facial surfaces closest to the lips are called labial surfaces, and facial surfaces closest to the inner cheek are called buccal surfaces; therefore, the term facial can be substituted for labial and buccal, and vice versa.
Buccal Surface
Tooth surface closest to the inner cheek.
Incisal surface
Chewing surface of anterior teeth.
Occlusal surface
Chewing surface of posterior teeth/
Occlusocervical division
Crosswise division of the crown that is parallel to the occlusal or incisal surface, consisting of the occlusal third, middle third, and cervical third.
Curve of spree
Curvature formed by the maxillary and mandibular arches in occlusion.
Middle third
Division of the root in the middle.
Cervical third
Division of the root nearest the neck of the tooth.
Mesiodistal Division
Lengthwise division of the crown in a mesiodistal (front-to-back) direction, consisting of the mesial third, middle third, and distal third.
Palatal surface
Lingual surface of the maxillary teeth.
Centric Occlusion
Maximum contact between the occluding surfaces of the maxillary and mandibular teeth.
Dentition
Natural teeth in the dental arch.
Malocclusion
Occlusion that is deviated from a class 1 normal occlusion.
Quadrant
One quarter of the dentition.
Sextant
One sixth of the dentition.
Deciduous
Pertaining to first detention of 20 teeth; often called "baby teeth" or primary teeth.
Linguoversion
Position in which the maxillary incisors are behind the mandibular incisors.
Nasmyth's membrane
Residue from epithelial tissue on the crowns of newly erupted teeth that may become extrinsically strained.
Lingual surface
Surface of mandibular and maxillary teeth closest to the tongue; also called palatal surface.
Mesial Surface
Surface of the tooth toward the midline.
Distal surface
Surface of tooth distant from the midline.
Angle's Classification
System developed by Dr. Edward H. Angle to describe and classify occlusion and malocclusion.
Mesioclusion
Term used for class 3 malocclusion.
Interproximal space
The area between adjacent tooth surfaces.
Masticatory
The chewing surface of the teeth.
Primary dentition
The first set of 20 primary teeth.
Labioversion
The inclination of the teeth to extend facially beyond the normal overlap of the incisal edge of the maxillary incisors over the mandibular incisors.
Mandibular
The lower jaw.
Occlusion
The natural contact of the maxillary and mandibular teeth in all positions.
Permanent dentition
The set of 32 secondary teeth.
Proximal surfaces
The surfaces next to each other when teeth are adjacent in the arch.
Anterior
Toward the front.
Posterior
Towards the back.
Embrasure
Triangular space in a gingival direction between the proximal surfaces of two adjoining teeth in contact.
Distoclusion
A class 2 malocclusion in which the messiobuccal cusp of the maxillary first molar occludes
Mixed dentition
A mixture of permanent teeth and primary teeth that occurs until all primary teeth have been lost, usually between the ages of 6 and 12.
Neutroclusion
An ideal mesiodistal relationship between the jaws and the dental arches.
Point angle
Angle formed by the junction of three surfaces.