dentist
Americannoun
-
dentists
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dentist
1750–60; < French dentiste, equivalent to dent tooth ( see dent 2) + -iste -ist
Explanation
A dentist is a doctor who specializes in teeth, gums, and the mouth. If you get a bad toothache, you should probably go to the dentist to make sure you don't have a cavity. When you visit the dentist, you might have your teeth and gums examined and cleaned, or you may need surgery for an impacted wisdom tooth or x-rays to make sure you don't have cavities. Dentists are health care professionals who attend dental school and train for several years before practicing. Dentist comes from the French dentiste, from dent. or "tooth."
Vocabulary lists containing dentist
Body Language: Dent, Dont ("Tooth")
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ist
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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.
See Examples For:
"We walk around completely afraid, constantly on alert," said Caroline Lo Bianco, 36, a dentist who had her phone ripped from her hands through the window of an Uber when she was seven months pregnant.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
Something like a million people vote in this event every year, according to the daytime news segment that I caught at the dentist the other afternoon while getting a tooth cleaning.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
Voskanyan had studied in Armenia to be a dentist and later worked a variety of jobs in America including in construction, jewelry and as a dental technician.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
A dentist says he's "deeply concerned" by illegal dental tourism "pop-up" consultations in Northern Irish hotels, which aren't properly registered.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Dad would sometimes joke that Mr. McCracken lived a double life, working as a dentist by day and preparing for the end of the world by night.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
"Too often," she says, "dentists give out mouthguards without checking why it is happening."
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
He warns that unless ministers "fix and fund NHS dentistry", more dentists could choose to reduce their NHS work or leave the service altogether.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
In the United States, dentists have used it off-label since 2014, when it was approved as a medical device for reducing tooth sensitivity.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
Meanwhile, more dentists may identify signs of uncontrolled diabetes and coordinate care with the patient’s physician.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Finally somebody asked what the problem was, and Lemon looked down at his hands and said that back in high school he’d had a couple of bad experiences with dentists.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
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.
