50 articles
Atraumatic restorative treatment
Atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) is a minimally invasive dental procedure that removes decayed tissue with hand instruments only and fills the cavity with glass ionomer cement, usable outside dental clinics without electricity or anesthesia.
Balanced Dental Occlusion
Balanced dental occlusion (bilateral balanced occlusion, BBO): denture tooth arrangement with simultaneous working- and balancing-side contacts in centric and eccentric positions; evidence shows no superiority over lingualized occlusion or canine guidance for complete dentures.
Caries removal
Caries removal, or excavation, is the dental procedure of removing infected and affected decayed tissue from deep cavities while preserving remineralizable dentin, with selective removal now preferred over complete excavation.
Cementation (dentistry)
Cementation in dentistry is the process of attaching crowns, bridges, and veneers to teeth or implants with cements ranging from zinc phosphate to adhesive resin cements.
Dental Air Abrasion
Dental air abrasion (kinetic cavity preparation, airborne-particle abrasion) is a drill-free dental technique propelling aluminum oxide particles in compressed air to remove caries, clean dentin, and prepare surfaces, invented by Robert Black in 1945 and marketed as the Airdent in 1951.
Dental Articulators
Dental articulators are mechanical or digital devices simulating mandibular movements and maxillomandibular relationships for occlusal analysis and prosthesis fabrication. Also called virtual articulators in software form; types include hinge, semiadjustable, fully adjustable, completely adjustable, and mathematically simulated.
Dental Bonding
Dental bonding (composite bonding) applies tooth-colored composite resin or dental cement, hardened by light or chemical curing, to repair chips, close gaps, reshape teeth, or attach orthodontic and restorative appliances; lasts about 3 to 10 years.
Dental Cavity Lining
Dental cavity lining: placement of a protective liner (calcium hydroxide, glass ionomer, calcium silicate) on prepared cavity walls to shield the pulp. Trials show liners give no consistent benefit over no liner; guidelines advise selective use.
Dental cavity preparation
Dental cavity preparation is the restorative dentistry procedure of removing decayed tooth structure and shaping the cavity so a filling, inlay, or onlay stays retained under chewing forces.
Dental composite
Dental composite (resin-based composite) is a tooth-colored direct filling material of resin matrix, filler, and silane coupling agent, developed from Bowen's BisGMA in the 1960s, light-cured with camphorquinone, and limited by polymerization shrinkage.
Dental curing
Dental curing is the polymerization hardening of resin composites, adhesives, and cements used to fill and bond teeth, activated by a curing light, a chemical system, or both combined.
Dental Curing Lights
Dental curing lights (light-curing units, LCUs) are handheld blue-light devices that photopolymerize composite resins via camphorquinone activation at 455-481 nm; evolved from UV and halogen to LED units, with radiant exposure, blue-light hazard, and FDA 510(k) clearance as key issues.
Dental Etching
Dental acid etching: phosphoric acid conditioning of enamel and dentin for resin bonding, introduced by Buonocore in 1955; covers etch-and-rinse, self-etch, and universal adhesive strategies.
Dental High-Speed Equipment
Dental high-speed equipment (High Speed Dental Equipment, MeSH D003754) covers dental tools operating at high rotation speeds, chiefly air-turbine and electric handpieces reaching hundreds of thousands of rpm, commercialized from the 1957 Borden Airotor.
Dental Impression Technique
Dental impression technique: producing a negative likeness of teeth and oral tissues with materials such as alginate and elastomers, or digital scans, for crowns, dentures, and prostheses.
Dental Marginal Adaptation
Dental marginal adaptation is the fit of a filling or prosthetic margin to the tooth surface, measured as the marginal gap in micrometers, assessed by direct view, replica, or micro-CT methods.
Dental Pins
Dental pins are small cylindrical pieces of metal or fiber-reinforced material drilled into dentin to retain a restoration or core buildup when little tooth structure remains.
Dental Prosthesis Design
Dental prosthesis design, the planning of crowns, bridges, dentures, and implant-supported prostheses, now spans conventional, CAD/CAM, additive, and AI-assisted workflows, with fit accuracy and biomechanics as key outcomes.
Dental Prosthesis Repair
Dental prosthesis repair (MeSH D017269) is reuniting or replacing a broken or worn dental prosthesis or part, such as a denture clasp, tooth, or flange; a minimally invasive alternative to full replacement with similar survival outcomes.
Dental Prosthesis Retention
Dental prosthesis retention (MeSH D017268) is holding a dental prosthesis in place by design, devices, or adhesives; covers denture physics, implant attachments (bar, ball, magnet, Locator), and denture adhesives.
Dental restoration
Dental restoration: repairing tooth structure with direct fillings (amalgam, composite, glass ionomer) or indirect laboratory/CAD-CAM prostheses (gold, zirconia, lithium disilicate, PFM), distinguished by fabrication location, materials, and longevity.
Dental Restoration Repair
Dental restoration repair, or reparative dentistry, fixes localized defects in existing fillings and crowns by adding composite rather than replacing the whole restoration, preserving tooth structure with comparable longevity.
Dental Restoration Wear
Dental Restoration Wear, a MeSH-indexed clinical category, covers loss of restorative material and opposing tooth structure from occlusal function; measured by 3D profilometry, quantified preferably as volume loss, and worsened by bruxism and hard ceramics.
Dental Soldering
Dental soldering joins metal parts of dental appliances, such as bridges and orthodontic bands, using a lower-melting filler alloy; technically brazing above 425°C, now often replaced by laser welding.
Dental Tissue Conditioning
Dental tissue conditioning is a prosthodontic procedure that uses a temporary soft liner on a denture to let inflamed oral tissues heal before new dentures are made.
Denture, Complete, Immediate
Denture, Complete, Immediate: a complete denture placed immediately after tooth extraction as a temporary functional and cosmetic prosthesis during healing, later replaced by a permanent denture; MeSH term since 1965.
Denture, Partial, Fixed
Denture, Partial, Fixed, also called fixed partial denture, fixed bridge, or FDP/FDP bridge, is a cemented dental prosthesis replacing missing teeth on prepared teeth, roots, or implants; 5-year survival about 94%, 10-year about 89%.
Denture, Partial, Fixed, Resin-Bonded
Resin-bonded fixed partial denture (Maryland bridge, resin-bonded bridge): a minimally invasive fixed dental prosthesis bonded to adjacent teeth with resin cement. 5-year survival about 87.7%; debonding is the main complication.
Denture, Partial, Immediate
Denture, Partial, Immediate (MeSH D003831): a partial denture built before extraction and inserted immediately after removal of the natural teeth, worn during up to 6 months of healing, then replaced by a fitted partial denture.
Denture, Partial, Removable
Removable partial denture (RPD): a patient-removable prosthesis replacing one or more missing teeth in a partially edentulous arch; first documented 1711, clasps from 1746, retention loss the leading complication.