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

Led by Luis Chiappe, director of the Natural History Museum’s Dinosaur Institute, the paleontologists return with generators and tents and jackhammers and dental picks.

From Los Angeles Times

Another healthcare-based company, Pearl, which creates artificial intelligence tools to help read dental patient X-rays, raised $58 million — which the company says is the biggest investment ever in dental AI.

From Los Angeles Times

The prosecution claims he was found to have been "severely malnourished", with broken bones, rickets, anaemia, dental disease and stunted growth.

From BBC

Hundreds of people may have been victims of a scam offering NHS appointments at a non-existent dental practice in Lincoln, according to Trading Standards officers.

From BBC

Mobile dental programs were the most expensive, averaging more than $1 million.

From Salon