Dental Terminology Related to Tooth Origin and formation

• Dentition: The teeth in the dental arch

  • Deciduous

    • A term used to describe the primary teeth

    • The first set of teeth (or tooth)

    • Having the property of falling off or shedding

  • Permanent

    • The second set of human teeth (except molars)

    • They are also called succedaneous

      - What is a succedaneous tooth? A permanent tooth that replaces a primary tooth

      - What teeth are succedaneous? Incisors (both central and lateral), canines, first and second premolars

      - What teeth are not succedaneous? First, second and third molars

      - Why are some teeth nonsuccedaneous? Because they do not have primary predecessors

  • Mixed

    • Deciduous + Permanent = Heterodont

    • when does it begin? with the appearance of the first permanent molars.

    • when does it end? with the exfoliation of the deciduous teeth

• Odont (prefix)

  • related to dentition

  • ex: odontoblast

• -genesis (suffix)

  • related to the process of creation and formation

  • ex: osteogenesis

• Exfoliate: Physiologic loss of primary dentition (to fall out)

• Eruption: The process of penetration of the tooth to the surrounding tissues (breaking out)

the deciduous teeth exoliate and permanent teeth erupt into the space

• proliferation: The process of increase in mass and number but with the same characters

• differentiation: The process of acquiring different functions from the original source

• -blast (suffix)

  • the function of tissue creation by a specialized cell type

  • ex: fibroblast

• -cyte (suffix)

  • the function of tissue maintained by a specialized cell type

  • ex: fibrocyte

• -clast (suffix)

  • the function of tissue destruction by a specialized cell type

  • ex: fibroclast