dental

[ den-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 ( def 2 ).

noun

1. Phonetics. a dental sound.

dental

/ 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

noun

1. phonetics a dental consonant

dental

/ dĕn′tl /

1. Relating to the teeth.

Other Words From

• den·tali·ty noun
• dental·ly adverb
• post·dental adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dental¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dental¹

C16: from Medieval Latin dentālis, from Latin dens tooth

Example Sentences

A dental hygienist and mom of little kids, Michelle Schaeffer was looking for at-home exercise options during the pandemic — a stress reliever “healthier than drinking.”

From Washington Post

Principal investigators from Canada and Tanzania worked with partners in Africa, North America, and Europe to describe a large assemblage of stone tools, fossil bones, and chemical proxies from dental and plant materials.

From Quartz

The group even blamed communists for American cities putting fluoride in their water for dental health.

From Washington Post

Companies provide an array of services to employer sponsored health plans, including traditional health insurance, vision and dental products, pharmacy benefits, third-party administration, claims review and more.

From ProPublica

Watts is a dental assistant, and her hours at work were slashed.

From ProPublica

Have you looked around the American Dental Association website for an explanation of how fluoridation actually works?

From The Daily Beast

Placed in drinking water, fluoride can serve people who otherwise have poor access to dental care.

From The Daily Beast

To put it rather uncharitably, the USPHS practiced a major dental experiment on a city full of unconsenting subjects.

From The Daily Beast

Added to drinking water at concentrations of around one part per million, fluoride ions stick to dental plaque.

From The Daily Beast

Dental leaders barnstormed the state, and cities began to fluoridate.

From The Daily Beast

In the milk teeth of man we have another useless and often annoying survival of an ancient state of the dental organs.

From Project Gutenberg

We have pictures of two score of dental instruments that were used by them.

From Project Gutenberg

Vinegar diluted to about half strength with water makes an excellent dental wash.

From Project Gutenberg

Immense quantities of the gas are used in dental operations.

From Project Gutenberg

Medical and dental inspection of school children will also be of value, and the town doctors will aid in it.

From Project Gutenberg