Chapter 11, Modern Dental Assisting, Overview of the Dentitions

System developed by Dr. Edward H. Angle to describe and classify occlusion and malocclusion

Angle's classification

Toward the front

Anterior

Division of the root nearest the tip of the root

Apical third

Tooth surface closest to the inner cheek

Buccal surface

Lengthwise division of the crown in a labial or buccolingual direction, consisting of the facial or buccal/labial third, middle third, and lingual third

Buccolingual division

Maximum contact between the occluding surfaces of the maxillary and mandibular teeth

Centric occlusion

Division of the root nearest the neck of the tooth

Cervical third

Curved inward

Concave

Area of the mesial or distal surface that touches the adjacent tooth in the same arch

Contact area

Curved outward

Convex

Curvature formed by the maxillary and mandibular arches in occlusion

Curve of Spee

Cross-arch curvature of the occlusal plane

Curve of Wilson

Pertaining to first dentition of 20 teeth; often called "baby teeth" or primary teeth

Deciduous

Natural teeth in the dental arch

Dentition

A class II malocclusion in which the mesiobuccal cusp of the maxillary first molar occludes (by more than the width of a premolar) mesial to the mesiobuccal groove of the mandibular first molar

Distoclusion

Triangular space in a gingival direction between the proximal surfaces of two adjoining teeth in contact

Embrasure

Tooth surface closest to the face. Can be substituted for labial or buccal surfaces, and vice versa.

Facial surface

Contact of the teeth during biting and chewing movements

Functional occlusion

Chewing surface of anterior teeth

Incisal surface

The area between adjacent tooth surfaces

Interproximal space

Facial surface closest to the lips

Labial surface

The inclination of the teeth to extend facially beyond the normal overlap of the incisal edge of the maxillary incisors over the mandibular incisors

Labioversion

Junction of two walls in a cavity preparation

Line angle

Surface of mandibular and maxillary teeth closest to the tongue; also called palatal surface

Lingual surface

Position in which the maxillary incisors are behind the mandibular incisors

Linguoversion

Occlusion that is deviated from a class I normal occlusion

Malocclusion

The lower jaw

Mandibular arch

The chewing surface of the teeth

Masticatory surface

The upper jaw

Maxillary arch

Surface of the tooth toward the midline

Mesial surface

Term used for class III malocclusion

Mesioclusion

Lengthwise division of the crown in a mesiodistal (front to back) direction, consisting of the mesial third, middle third, and distal third

Mesiodistal division

Division of the root in the middle

Middle third

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

Mixed dentition

Residue from epithelial tissue on the crowns of newly erupted teeth that may become extrinsically stained

Nasmyth's membrane

An ideal mesiodistal relationship between the jaws and the dental arches

Neutroclusion

Chewing surface of posterior teeth

Occlusal surface

The natural contact of the maxillary and mandibular teeth in all positions

Occlusion

Crosswise division of the crown that is parallel to the occlusal or incisal surface, consisting of the occlusal third, middle third, and cervical third

Occlusocervical division

Lingual surface of maxillary teeth

Palatal surface

The set of 32 secondary teeth

Permanent dentition

Angle formed by the junction of three surfaces

Point angle

Toward the back

Posterior

The first set of 20 primary teeth

Primary dentition

The surfaces next to each other when teeth are adjacent in the arch

Proximal surfaces

One quarter of the dentition

Quadrant

One sixth of the dentition

Sextant

Permanent teeth that replace primary teeth

Succedaneous teeth

Surface of tooth distant from the midline.

Distal surface