dental

Everyday

Dental means about teeth or about looking after teeth. tree →

In the lessons

In health and everyday life, children visit the dental surgery for check-ups, use dental floss and learn dental hygiene (brushing twice a day). In science, dental means relating to teeth in a body. Phrases: dental check-up, dental floss, dental care, dental nurse, dental hygiene.

Examples

• I have a dental check-up next week. tree →
• Use dental floss to clean between your teeth. tree →
• Good dental hygiene stops tooth decay. tree →
• The dental nurse gave me a sticker. tree →
• Sugar is bad for dental health. tree →
• The dentist took a dental X-ray. tree →

Note

Adjective only, comes before a noun (dental care). Not comparable. Related: dentist, dentistry. Spelt «dental», not «dentle».

In Jewish tradition

In Sefer Yetzirah it names the letters said with the teeth.

Interpretation. The book sorts the twenty-two letters by where they are made in the mouth. Tradition sees these places as part of how God made the world with letters.

Examples

• This is the modern classification of the letters into guttural, palatal, lingual, dental and labial sounds. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
• Twenty-two letters are formed by the voice, impressed on the air, and audibly uttered in five situations, in the throat, guttural sounds; in the palate, palatals; by the tongue, linguals; through the teeth, dentals; and by the lips, labial sounds. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887) tree →

Note

Adjective only, comes before a noun (dental care). Not comparable. Related: dentist, dentistry. Spelt «dental», not «dentle».