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

Faced with a tapped-out bank account and the agony of impacted wisdom teeth, Natalie becomes a regular at a local blood-plasma donation center to help pay for the necessary dental work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

The system would cover hospital and physician services, most prescription drugs, mental health and substance abuse treatment, dental and vision services, long-term care and gender affirming and reproductive care such as contraception and abortions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Medicare Advantage’s benefits can include no monthly premiums, out-of-pocket maximums, dental and vision coverage and gym memberships.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

Although they lived in many of the same environments as anatomically modern humans, their dental calculus contained considerably more insect DNA.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

Nyla sits on a stool next to the pod and slips on gloves like she’s a dental hygienist about to perform a cleaning.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

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 Ernest Weekley

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 Joel Dorman Steele

I would not voluntarily be under his manifold rows of dentals.

From Imaginary Conversations and Poems A Selection by Walter Savage Landor

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 Edgar Allan Poe

He scatters labials, dentals, and gutturals in all directions.

From Talks on Talking by Grenville Kleiser