Dental Implant Definitions

Abutment: The connecting piece that allows your dentist to attach the replacement tooth to the titanium implant. Over the course of treatment, your dentist may utilize several abutments to promote better gum tissue healing.

Edentulous: Without teeth. Patients may be described as fully edentulous when they are missing all of their teeth, or partially edentulous when they are missing some of their teeth.

Fixture: Another name for the titanium dental implant which serves as the artificial tooth root.

Osseointegration: The biological process by which living bone (osseo) fuses with the titanium dental implant to form a man-made tooth root.

Resorption: The physical process by which bone shrinks and deteriorates.

Periodontal Definitions

Apical Pathology: Radiographic (x- ray) signs of infection of the "nerve" of a tooth that has spread into the bone surrounding the tip of a root or roots. This lesion is usually found at the tip of the root or roots of a carious and/or infected tooth. (A lesion at the apex of the root of a non-vital tooth)

Attachment Level: The distance in millimeters that exists between the edge of the enamel of a tooth to the gum tissue that is adherent to its root. This attached tissue is at the bottom of a sulcus or a pocket of any given tooth. (Distance in millimeters from the cemento-enamel junction to the junctional epithelium). (epithelial attachment)

Attrition: Wear on the biting surfaces of the teeth. (Attrition is the term used for wear and tear caused by teeth against teeth)

Bleeding On Probing (BOP): Hemorrhage of the lining of the pocket as a result of gentle probing. This is due to the inflammation and ulceration of the pocket walls elicited by the presence of calculus (tartar), and plaque on the surface of the root adjacent to the pocket wall. (Clinical diagnostic parameter used for the early detection of gingivitis or periodontitis. The most common cause of abnormal clinical bleeding is chronic inflammation)

Bruxism: A habit of grinding, clenching or clamping of the teeth which can damage the teeth, affect the joints of the jaw, and cause spasms of the muscles of mastication, or a combination thereof. (Bruxism is the clenching or grinding of the teeth when the individual is not chewing or swallowing)

Calculus: Tartar, hardened bacterial colonies that form when plaque persists. (Calculus is an adherent calcified or calcifying mass that forms on the surface of natural teeth and dental prostheses. Ordinarily, calculus consists of mineralized bacterial plaque)

Caries: Cavities. (Tooth decay)

Combined Lesion: Endodontic/periodontal abscess. (A lesion involving both the pulp and the periodontal tissues of the tooth)

Crown: The anatomical portion of tooth that projects into the oral cavity (mouth). In prosthetic terms, a crown is a prosthesis that replaces lost tooth structure, usually most of the enamel. It is also commonly known as a "cap". Crowns are permanently cemented to the tooth. (Anatomic crown: the portion of the tooth covered by enamel. Clinical crown: part of the tooth that has been denuded of its gingiva and projects into the oral cavity)

Crown Lengthening: Surgical procedure designed to increase the amount of tooth structure projecting into the mouth. (Increase of the size of the clinical crown using periodontal surgical procedures)

Drifting: Change in the position of a tooth or teeth (tipping). Drifting is usually due to missing teeth or gum disease. (Pathologic movement of the teeth as a result of inflammation and reduction in periodontal support)

Furcation: Area of the trunk of the root of molar teeth that divides either into two (lower molars), or three roots (upper molars). (Bifurcation, trifurcation)

Furcation Involvement: Condition in which the furcation of a multirooted tooth is denuded of its periodontal ligament and bone by periodontal disease. (Commonly occurring conditions in which the bifurcation and trifurcation of multirooted teeth are denuded by periodontal disease)

Gingivitis: Infection and inflammation of the gum tissues. (An infection and inflammation of the gingiva due to plaque accumulation at the gingival margin)

Implant: A man made tooth root which is placed into the bone to serve as support for the replacement of single or multiple teeth. Our office uses the Brånemark Implant System exclusively. Only this implant system from Sweden has an extremely high success rate, and long term ("permanent") efficacy documented by scientific studies. (An alloplastic device inserted into bone, which becomes integrated to the host bone (osseointegration), and provides support for single or multiple tooth replacement(s))

Inadequate Crown Length: Inadequate amount of natural tooth surface. (A situation in which a short clinical crown is present on a tooth and it is deemed inadequate for the retention of a required cast restoration)

Juvenile Periodontitis: An advanced loss of the bony support structures of your teeth at a very early age. (A disease of the periodontium occurring in an otherwise healthy adolescent which is characterized by a rapid loss of alveolar bone about more than one tooth of the permanent dentition...The amount of destruction manifested is not commensurate with the amounts of local irritants.)

Malocclusion: Improper alignment of the upper and lower teeth. (Irregularly aligned teeth, malformation of the jaws, and/or abnormal occlusal relationships)

Mandible: Lower jaw.

Mandibular/Maxillary Atrophy: Deterioration of the upper and/or lower jaw. Usually severe loss of existing bone and thinning of the gum tissues.

Maxilla: Upper jaw

Mucogingival Defect: Lack of attached gingiva (gum) as a result of bone loss to gum disease, or absence of gingiva, as in gingival recession, with resultant bone loss. (An inadequate amount of attached gingiva)

Occlusal: The chewing (top) surface of a given tooth. (Pertaining to the masticatory surfaces of the posterior teeth, prosthesis or occlusion rims)

Oral Hygiene: The act of maintaining the teeth, gums, and other soft tissues of one's mouth to maintain a clean and healthy mouth. (The removal of microbial plaque and the prevention of its accumulation on the teeth and adjacent gingival surfaces)

Osseous Surgery: Surgical restoration, to normal architecture, of the bone damaged by periodontal disease. (Procedure by which changes in the alveolar bone can be accomplished to rid it of deformities induced by the periodontal disease process or other related factors, such as exostosis and tooth supraeruption)

Periodontal Pocket: Pathological space greater than three millimeters in depth that exists between the root of a tooth and the gum covering that root. (A periodontal pocket is a pathologically deepened gingival sulcus)

Periodontitis: "Pyorrhea" is an infection that leads to the loss of the bony support of the teeth. (An infection of the soft and hard tissues surrounding the teeth that progresses with tissue destruction)

Pocket Elimination: Elimination of the inflamed, infected, flabby gum tissue and correction of underlying bone damage. (Pocket elimination therapy can be directed to: 1. opening up the pocket area to ensure the removal of irritants from the tooth surface or, 2. eliminating, or reducing the depth of the periodontal pocket)

Pontic: Artificial tooth or teeth designed to replace missing tooth or teeth. A pontic is attached or supported by the retainers. (An artificial tooth on a fixed partial denture that replaces a missing natural tooth, restores its functions, and usually fills the space previously filled by the natural crown)

Posterior Bite Collapse: The decrease in vertical dimension as a result of the collapse and tipping of the posterior teeth due to the loss of the first and/or second molars. (An occlusal disorder caused by the loss of posterior teeth, especially the first and second molars, and subsequent tooth migration)

Primary Occlusal Trauma:
Looseness of the teeth as a result of periodontal infection and bite trauma on otherwise healthy teeth and gum tissues. (The effect of the forces generated by occlusal interferences and/or parafunctional habits, with normal periodontal support)

Probing Depth: The distance that exists between the crest of the gum and the crest of the bone. (The distance to which a probing instrument penetrates into the pocket)

Prognosis: Prediction of the duration, course, and termination of a disease (or the approximate life of a given tooth in periodontal disease), and its response to treatment. (A forecast as to the probable result of a disease or a course of therapy)

Retainers: Crowns, or "caps" that are designed to support the pontic or pontics. Retainers, or "abutments" are permanently cemented to the teeth adjacent to the space that is "being filled" by the pontic or pontics. (Any type of device used for the stabilization or retention of a prosthesis).

Scaling and Root Planing: Removal of calculus deposits from the roots of the teeth, and the subsequent removal of smaller particles of embedded calculus to produce a smooth, hard, clean surface. (Scaling is the process by which plaque and calculus are removed from both supragingival and subgingival tooth surfaces. Root planing is the process by which residual embedded calculus and portions of cementum are removed from the roots to produce a smooth, hard, clean surface)

Secondary Occlusal Trauma: Looseness of the teeth as a result of periodontal infection and bite trauma. Bony support is inadequate. (The effect of the forces generated by normal occlusal forces, magnified by the reduced resistance of the periodontium to those forces)

Suppuration: Presence of pus in a periodontal pocket. It reflects the inflammatory changes in the pocket walls. (Purulent exudate)

Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMJ):
Indication that your jaw structure is not functioning normally. (A disorder of the temporomandibular joint due to structural and/or functional aspects)

Tooth Mobility: Looseness of a tooth or teeth as a result of bone loss (tooth support) and/or bite trauma. (Mobility beyond the physiologic range. Mobility may be due to loss of tooth support, trauma from occlusion, and extension of inflammation from the gingiva or from the periapex)

Vertical Dimension: The amount of facial support. (The distance between the maxilla and the mandible when the teeth are in occlusion)