The tooth is split into five/six-ish sections to help us know where the decay or calculus...is located.
1. Buccal surface= the surface facing the cheek or face
2. Lingual surface= the surface facing the tongue
3. Occlusal surface= the surface used to chew or chewing surface
4. Mesial surface= The surface facing toward the middle/mid line of the mouth.
5. Distal surface= the surface facing the back of the mouth
6. Cervical=the small lower 1/3 of the tooth near the gum line or neck of the tooth
Mandible/mandibular= lower jaw/teeth
Maxilla/maxillary= upper teeth
palate= roof of the mouth
Amalgam = alloy or the filling that appears silver
Composite = white filling
Ortho/orthodontics= braces
Bruxism/ bruxing = grinding your teeth
Attrition = is the wear pattern or loss of tooth surface from grinding your teeth or sign of teeth wearing down (wear facets, usually found along cusp tips, and occlusals this picture is a severe case)
Abrasion = is the wear pattern or loss of tooth surface from foreign objects ex. toothbrush (usually found along the cervical region and more wide than deep )
Abfraction= Loss of tooth surface at the cervical areas of teeth caused by tensile and compressive forces during tooth flexure ( usually found on
cervical region and more deep and "v" shape )Erosion = sign of the tooth surface being eroded away by chemicals, acid(citrus,stomach
acid; not involving bacterial action, can be seen on all surfaces depending on source occlusals will show a cupping)... this pic is classic sign of erosion caused by bulemia, or vomiting...stomach acids have eroded away the enamel of the lingual surface .gingiva/gingival= gums or pertaining to...
periodontium/periodontal= gums or involving the gums bone and teeth
periodontal disease= gum disease
probe= an instrument used to measure the health of your gums and bone(periodontium)
Prophy= general cleaning (scaling AND polishing, if you just get your teeth polished you didn't receive a full cleaning)
S/RP= scaling and root planing or deep cleaning
Calculus= hardened tartar/plaque that cannot be removed by brushing or flossing (although, if homecare is good; the plaque will be removed before it has time to harden. But there are some areas that are hard to get to like below the gumline that are near impossible, which is why you see us :)more about this topic in a later post.
Scaling= well my patients call it scraping, but it is the removal of calculus from the teeth
polishing= this entails a polishing cup with a type of pumice or therapeutic polish (helps remove stain, apply fluoride, and smooth or polish the enamel of the tooth)
LDA= local delivery of antibiotics or antimicrobials
edematous= swollen
erythema= red
blanche/blanching= white
radiographs= x-rays
PA's = peri apical x-rays meaning single x-ray to get the crown and root of a tooth plus surrounding bone
FMX/FMS= full mouth series/full mouth x-rays (18-20 )
bitewings= x-rays usually taken as check up x-rays to see between the teeth & periodic exam
(the black arrows are pointing out decay in this bitewing, poor fella)
Pano/panorex= 1 large x-ray taken of your whole mouth at once usually circling your head as you stand still, used mainly for braces and wisdom teeth. not good for check up x-rays or to examine for any decay.
Did you know recently scientists have discovered that by pulling scotch tape off the roll in a vacuum chamber it will emit radiation. In fact, it admits enough to take an x-ray and scientist have experimented using dental radiographs of their finger. pretty cool. article found here , video here . (side note in the video it discusses us leaving the room... most offices now have digital and fast film which is very small amount of radiation compared to the "old school" and we also take x-rays all day so we do it as preventative for ourselves.)
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