dental
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the teeth.
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of or relating to dentistry or a dentist.
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Phonetics.
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(of a speech sound) articulated with the tongue tip touching the back of the upper front teeth or immediately above them, as French t.
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alveolar, as English t.
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noun
adjective
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of or relating to the teeth
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of or relating to dentistry
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phonetics
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pronounced or articulated with the tip of the tongue touching the backs of the upper teeth, as for t in French tout
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(esp in the phonology of some languages, such as English) another word for alveolar
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noun
Other Word Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing dental
Body Language: Dent, Dont ("Tooth")
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for November 6–November 12, 2021
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carn (flesh), derm (skin), dent (tooth), os (bone)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Tools are scattered throughout the studio, including a plumber’s torch for melting glass, crockpots for pickling and a dental tool she uses to stamp her logo, VM, short for Verre Modern, onto her ceramics.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
A painful tooth, or even one that simply feels unusual, could point to more than a dental problem.
From Science Daily • May 16, 2026
He ordered Aspen Dental to pay $2.3 million in penalties and restitution while also imposing new conditions to ensure the company doesn’t exert undue control over dental care at the practices it supports.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
Last October, patients at another dental clinic in Mortdale - a suburb in southern Sydney - were similarly urged to get tested, with the dentist being barred from practising after breaching infection control standards.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
“I don’t think your grandparents envisioned an accb dental death when they made this request. But we’ll make the best of it.”
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
