- Tony
Dental MMI Glossary
A glossary of words that you may be asked about directly or indirectly in your dental school MMI or interview. It's also useful to know about these words generally if you're thinking about applying to dental school- I've written about how these terms may be useful
Micro-abrasion:
A drill free technique that blasts the tooth with air and abrasive
Useful if a scenario question comes up where the patient is afraid of drills
Hard/soft palate:
Bony part of the roof of your mouth (hard)
Soft part of the roof of your mouth (soft)
Common dental knowledge
Analgesia:
Pain relief
Useful for scenarios where patients are in pain
Apex, Enamel, Dentin, Pulp, Root:
In order:
Tip of the root
Hard, mineralised outer layer of tooth
Inner layer of tooth
Living part of the tooth
Contains the nerve
You may get a question on tooth anatomy
Bridge, Crown/Cap, Denture, Veneer
In order:
Fake tooth or teeth bonded to surrounding teeth
A restoration covering all or most of the tooth, ie on a tooth
Removable or fixed, artificial teeth- can be complete or partial
Thin layer of artificial tooth bound to the front side of a natural tooth
Common restorative dental knowledge
Undigested food, saliva and bacteria forming a sticky film
Can turn into tartar
Again, common dental knowledge
Tartar
Hard substance on the tooth
Common dental knowledge
Amalgam
Filling material made containing mercury
You may be asked about fillings
Bite
The tooth structure that forms when your mouth is shut and you 'bite'
Useful, common dental term
Tooth decay, gingiva, periodontitis
These are a little more complicated, see my post here for more details
You may get a question on this
Canines, incisors, molars
Make your sure you know this!
Mandible, maxilla
Lower, supper jaw
Impressive technical terms
Oral and maxillofacial surgery
A dental speciality focusing on the head and neck
A potential career pathway
Periodontics
A dental speciality focusing on the gums
A potential career pathway
Pedodontics
A dental speciality that revolves around child dentistry
A potential career pathway
Prosthodontics
A dental speciality focusing on cosmetics
A potential career pathway
Dental speciality focusing on the root
A potential career pathway