Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of, relating to, or for the teeth.
  • adjective Of, relating to, or intended for dentistry.
  • adjective Linguistics Articulated with the tip of the tongue near or against the upper front teeth.
  • noun A dental consonant.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of or pertaining to the teeth.
  • In grammar, formed or pronounced at or near the front upper teeth, with the tip or front of the tongue: as, d, t, and n are dental letters.
  • Connected with or used in dentistry: as, dental rubber; a dental mallet or hammer.
  • The dental formula of a child over two years of age is thus: which means that the child should have two incisors, one canine, and two molars, on each side of each jaw. … The formula of permanent dentition in man is written: there being two incisors, one canine, two premolars, and three molars on each side above and below.
  • The tissue or structure out of which a tooth is formed, and from which, as in the case of rodents, it may continue to grow for an indefinite period, in which case the teeth are said to have persistent pulps.
  • noun A sound formed by placing the end of the tongue against or near the upper teeth, as d, t, and n (see I., 2).
  • noun In conchology, a tooth-shell; a shell of the family Denlaliidæ.
  • noun Dentex macrophthalmus, a fish of the family Lutianidæ, found in the Mediterranean.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to the teeth or to dentistry.
  • adjective (Phon.) Formed by the aid of the teeth; -- said of certain articulations and the letters representing them.
  • adjective (Zoöl.) a brief notation used by zoölogists to denote the number and kind of teeth of a mammal.
  • adjective a dentist.
  • noun An articulation or letter formed by the aid of the teeth.
  • noun (Zoöl.) A marine mollusk of the genus Dentalium, with a curved conical shell resembling a tooth. See Dentalium.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective of or concerning the teeth: dental care
  • adjective of or concerning dentistry
  • adjective phonetics made with the tongue touching the teeth: dental fricative

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a consonant articulated with the tip of the tongue near the gum ridge
  • adjective of or relating to the teeth
  • adjective of or relating to dentistry

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin dentālis, from Latin dēns, dent-, tooth; see dent- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Medieval Latin dentālis, from Latin dēns ("tooth"), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁d-ent- (“tooth”), participle of Proto-Indo-European *h₁ed- (“eat”), perhaps from an older sense "bite".

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Examples

  • Two things can greatly reduce the cost of adequate dental care: popular education about dental health, and the training of primary health workers as ‘dental health promoters’.

    Chapter 4 1983

  • She is noted for her painless drilling and she is a specialist in dental implants.

    Page 2 2009

  • She is noted for her painless drilling and she is a specialist in dental implants.

    Page 2 2009

  • -- The Hoosiers will lose junior guard Brett Finkelmeier, who is leaving the team to enroll in dental school.

    Big Ten Conference 2010

  • She is noted for her painless drilling and she is a specialist in dental implants.

    Page 2 2009

  • She is noted for her painless drilling and she is a specialist in dental implants.

    Page 2 2009

  • She is noted for her painless drilling and she is a specialist in dental implants.

    Page 2 2009

  • Unfortunately, this career path is blocked by occupational licensing requirements, which prevent many otherwise capable students from pursuing careers in dental hygiene, physical therapy, or similar professions.

    My Education Rant, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty 2009

  • She is noted for her painless drilling and she is a specialist in dental implants.

    Page 2 2009

  • She is noted for her painless drilling and she is a specialist in dental implants.

    Page 2 2009

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