Dental Language Origins Flashcards
Origins of dental terminology
Constructed from Greek and Latin components
Word parts
Breakdown of the term sublingual into its component parts.
Decodable terms
A term that it’s meaning can be understood by decoding the meaning of each word part.
A root word
The core foundation of a term.
The term’s base.
All term contain one or more root word, and a term may consist of a root word alone.
Prefix
Added at the Beginning of a term, before the root.
Changes the meaning of the term by specifying
Number, color, size, location, or condition of the root word.
Not every word contains a prefix
Suffix
The last word component in a term.
Changes the term by providing additional information about the root word.
Not every term carries a suffix
Connecting vowel
The letter O
When two root words are combined, or, sometimes, when it’s needed to hold together a root word and a suffix, the letter O serves as the connecting vowel.
Example, termporomandibular
(Temporal bone) and (the mandible)also contains the suffix -ar,
-ar = pertaining to
Abbreviation
Any shortening of a word of phrase.
Prep = preparation
Lab = laboratory
Breaking down words
Orthodontics - the branch of dentistry devoted to the correct alignment of the teeth.
Root word = dont = teeth
Prefix = ortho = straight
Suffix = -ics = body of study or knowledge
Acronym
Type of abbreviation consisting of the first letter of the words in the phrase being abbreviated.
AIDS
Acquired
Immune
Deficiency
Syndrome
ALARA - as low as reasonably possible - the guiding principle of radiation exposure when x-rays are being taken.
Eponym
When a person’s name is used to name a particular invention, disease or condition, or discovery, or device.
Common in medicine and dentistry,
Black’s classification of tooth decay, named for Dr. Greene Vardiman Black.
System is more than 100 years old, but still used today.
Modern terminology
Computer-aided drafting/computer-aided manufacture, the name of a process in which a computer is used to design and then construct tooth replacements, is one example of modern terminology; fluoride varnish, a preparation that is applied to the teeth to expose them to decay-fighting fluoride, is another.
Undecodable terms
Words that cannot be broken into parts that explain their meaning. These words are complete in and of themselves, and figuring out their definitions may require the use of a dictionary.
Ex., Moral - grinding teeth in the back of the mouth.
Comes from mola, the Latin term for “millstone,” an ancient tool used to grind grain.
Ex. Caries, tooth decay. - Latin = rotten
