dental

American  

[den-tl] / ˈdɛn tl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the teeth.

2. of or relating to dentistry or a dentist.

3. Phonetics.

   1. (of a speech sound) articulated with the tongue tip touching the back of the upper front teeth or immediately above them, as French t.

   2. alveolar, as English t.

   3. interdental.

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noun

dentals plural

1. Phonetics. a dental sound.

dental British  

/ ˈdɛntəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the teeth

2. of or relating to dentistry

3. phonetics

   1. pronounced or articulated with the tip of the tongue touching the backs of the upper teeth, as for t in French tout

   2. (esp in the phonology of some languages, such as English) another word for alveolar

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noun

1. phonetics a dental consonant

dental Scientific  

/ dĕn′tl /

1. Relating to the teeth.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dentality
  noun
• postdental
  adjective
• dentally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dentals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dental

1585–95; < Medieval Latin dentālis, equivalent to Latin dent- (stem of dēns ) tooth + -ālis -al ¹

Explanation

The adjective dental describes things that have something to do with teeth. Dental floss is the waxed string you use to clean between your teeth. A dental hygienist is the dentist's assistant, the one who cleans and polishes your teeth. When your dentist's office calls to remind you about your appointment, they might say, "You have a dental cleaning scheduled for next week." In phonetics, a dental is a sound that's made with your tongue touching your top teeth, like th-. In Middle French, dental means "of teeth," from the Latin dens, "tooth."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dental dentals

Head Start operators, which include school districts and nonprofit organizations, are required to provide medical, dental and vision screenings for children and to monitor them for developmental delays.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

His wife, Marie Rose, never remarried and worked as a dental assistant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Riley wants to keep her mum in the family home, but the caring commitments affect her job as a dental nurse.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

It may also help people who have limited access to conventional dental care or cannot easily tolerate standard procedures.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

He would be with Lee Ann Dickerson, the dental hygienist.

From "Raymie Nightingale" by Kate DiCamillo

The scales are here represented by triangular dentals, which occupy the entire length of the back.

From Ancient art of the province of Chiriqui, Colombia Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1884-1885, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1888, pages 3-188 by Holmes, William Henry

Young children habitually confuse dentals and palatals, thus a child may be heard to say that he has "dot a told."

From The Romance of Names by Weekley, Ernest

Those made by the lips are termed labials; those by pressing the tongue against the teeth, dentals; those by the tongue, linguals.

From Hygienic Physiology : with Special Reference to the Use of Alcoholic Drinks and Narcotics by Steele, Joel Dorman

But, it seems, not destined for him; Media leaving it to the present proprietor, whether his dentals should change owners or not.

From Mardi: and A Voyage Thither, Vol. I by Melville, Herman

Polly had initiated him in the mysteries of a discovery of mine, that it is not necessary to finish your sentence in a crowd, but by a sort of mumble, omitting sibilants and dentals.

From The Best American Humorous Short Stories by Poe, Edgar Allan