dentistry

The healing science and art concerned with the structure and function of the oral-facial complex, and with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of deformities, pathoses, and traumatic injuries thereof. SYN: odontology, odontonosology.

- community d. public health d., with an academic base, emphasizing the professional obligation to foster the delivery of prevention, education, and care to populations.

- esthetic d. a field of d. concerned especially with the appearance of the dentition as achieved through its arrangement, form, and color.

- forensic d. 1. the relation and application of dental facts to legal problems, as in using the teeth for identifying the dead; 2. the law in its bearing on the practice of d.. SYN: dental jurisprudence, forensic odontology, legal d..

- legal d. SYN: forensic d..

- operative d. usually, the individual restoration of teeth by means of metallic or nonmetallic materials. SYN: restorative d..

- pediatric d. SYN: pedodontics.

- preventive d. a philosophy and method of dental practice that seeks to prevent the initiation, progression, and recurrence of dental disease.

- prosthetic d. SYN: prosthodontics.

- public health d. that specialty of d. concerned with the prevention and control of dental diseases and promotion of oral health through organized community efforts.

- restorative d. SYN: operative d..

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den·tist·ry 'dent-ə-strē n, pl -ries the art or profession of a dentist

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n.

the study, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions affecting the mouth, jaws, teeth, and their supporting tissues. Subdisciplines are: dental public health, endodontics, oral medicine, oral surgery, orthodontics, paediatric dentistry, periodontology, preventive dentistry, prosthodontics, and restorative dentistry.

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den·tis·try (denґtis-tre) 1. that department of the healing arts which is concerned with the teeth, oral cavity, and associated structures, including the diagnosis and treatment of their diseases and the restoration of defective and missing tissue. 2. the work done by dentists, such as the creation of restorations, crowns, and bridges, and surgical procedures performed in and about the oral cavity. Called also odontoiatria, odontology, and oral medicine.