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

Funded through Chan’s philanthropy with her husband Mark Zuckerberg, the private, tuition-free school aimed to support the “whole child” through wraparound services, including free dental checkups, early-intervention screenings and wellness coaching for parents.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 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

Murphy, 10, has cherry eye surgery and a dental cleaning at Frosted Faces Foundation in Ramona, a nonprofit that rescues senior dogs, on February 20, 2025.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

I hope you do accept our offer to pay Julian's dental bills.

From "Wonder" by R. J. Palacio

Of what available value reputation, unless wedded to power, dentals, or place?

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

Diacritical marks intended to distinguish between the various sibilants, dentals, nasals, and so forth, of the Arabic and Sanskrit alphabets, have been purposely omitted.

From Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official by Sleeman, William

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

Another point to be observed is that the dentals t, d, n, l, require that the tongue touch the teeth, rather than the palate.

From The Roman Pronunciation of Latin Why we use it and how to use it by Lord, Frances Ellen

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