Glossary

Live 20 times magnification
AA digital camera is connected to the microscope. The pictures from the digital camera can be seen instantly live using a pair of Eye-Trek video glasses.

Adhesive
Describes the adhesive binding of plastic to the teeth. The bond is comparable to super glue that can stick plastic to a smooth surface (the tooth).

Amalgam fillings, amalgam
Amalgam is a metal connection containing mercury, that releases mercury especially during the insertion of fillings.

Aesthetic
Greek – Beauty; is a description of the appearance e.g. of teeth

Aesthetic result
The judgement is made as to whether the work done by the dentist can be distinguished from the patient’s own teeth.

Grinding
Teeth must be ground in order to be able to carry out technical work. The dentist thereby takes away tooth substance - on one hand to create enough room for the material e.g. the crown and on the other hand so that a precise edge can be created, from which the technician can begin with the crown.

Bleaching
A method to brighten teeth using hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide.

Permanent teeth
BPermanent teeth break through after about the age of 6 years old and replace the milk teeth. They should be kept for the entire life.

Bridge
The bridge is a technical work used to “replace” missing teeth. It functions like a traditional bridge and consists of two pillars (the teeth to either side of the space) and the connector between the pillars.

Diagnosis
The results of an examination are refered to as the diagnosis.

Endodontology
Is the technical expression for root canal treatment. Thereby, all the bacteria in the tip of the root of a dead tooth should be removed.

Eye-Trek Glasses, Video Glasses
The Eye-Trek glasses (= video glasses) look like a pair of skiing goggles. One can watch videos in cinema format or play X-Box games using 2 small inbuilt flat screen monitors.

Fissure
Each tooth is made of bumps with valleys in between. These valleys are, as a general rule, “deep shafts” in the chewing surface of a tooth, in which bacteria and residual food collect and which can’t be removed with a toothbrush.

Fissure sealing
In the past, plastic was stuck over the fissure with the hope that the bacteria in the fissure that was covered with the plastic wouldn’t grow anymore. These days this treatment can be carried out very gentlily using the sand blaster.

Photo CD
Photos are created using the digital camera that is mounted on the microscope and are burnt onto a CD-Rom after each treatment.

Fillings
The closing up of a pre-drilled hole.

Fibreglass strengthened
Like metal bracing in concrete, the fibreglass serves to give the plastic better stability.

Medicinal cost plan
A quote of costs; in which the planned treatment including the pre-tax price is itemised in detail.

Hypnosis
A form of relaxation in which one allows oneself to be distract from the dental treatment with the help of a CD, DVD, music or using external aids.

Implantology
The study of implants and their application. An implant can be imagined as being like a screw that is screwed into the wall. In the case of an implant, the implant is the screw and the bone is the wall.

Inlay
IA filling made of gold, ceramic or plastic created by a technician that is “tightly fitted into” the tooth.

Intraoral
Which means: in the mouth.

Caries, carious
KCaries is a demineralisation of the tooth and develops when bacteria in the mouth take in sugar.

Caries detector
A colouring agent which one can use to give caries a red colour.

Ceramic
IA material made out of unsophisticated small glass grains that are melted together using heat and pressure. It is a material that can appear from similar to identical to the tooth.

Small picture x-rays
In dentistry panorama x-rays are created that take a picture of all the teeth including the jaw. This is of great importance for the overview and for oral surgeons. In order to diagnose caries and the bones around the teeth, small approx. 4 x 6 cm large x-rays are taken and these are called small picture x-rays.

Complications
KComplications are difficulties that appear during or after treatment.

Concrement
Tartar which is found under the gum.

Crowns
Like a hat that is pulled over the head. As the "hat" – or the crown – is not larger than the tooth, often health tooth substance must be sacrificed first (see grinding in the glossary)

Plastic fillings
Plastic fillings are so-called "white fillings".

Plastic
Unsophisticated small gas particles that are chemically held together.

Plastic cement
Chemically the same as plastic, however it is suitable for the adhesion of plastic or ceramic inlays or crowns to the tooth.

Laser
Light of a particular wave length that can accelerate the healing process.

lege artis
According to the current state of science.

Light probe
A “mini flashlight” for the diagnosis of caries.

Milk teeth
Milk teeth are all the teeth that babies get in the first half year and can keep in their mouths until the age of twelve. They are important place holders for the permanent teeth. From the age of 6, the milk teeth are successively replaced by the permanent teeth.

Mini-gold edge
JEach crown has an edge at which it goes over onto the own tooth. This edge can be made out of gold for improved exactness and is approx. 0.2 to 0.5 cm wide.

Microscope, microscopic
IAn aid for magnification with which it is possible to magnify the tooth up to 20 times larger.

Microscope picture
Photos can be taken during the treatment using the digital camera that is attached to the microscope.

Professional oral hygiene
Professional oral hygiene is tooth cleaning that is carried out by a prophylaxis assistent or by the dentist.

Neurosurgery
IThe medical discipline that operates on the brain or on the nerves among other things.

Periodontics
Periodontics is the study of the tooth holding system which consists of the gum, tooth holding fibres and bones.

Plaque–Control-Findings (PCF)
The teeth are coloured with a plaque colouring agent. Then the sum of the teeth that are coloured with the coating is multiplied by 100 and then divided by the entire number of teeth in the mouth. The result is given as a percentage.

0% means no tooth in the mouth has plaque.

100% means that all the teeth in the mouth have plaque.

Plaque colouring agent
Plaque colouring agent is a liquid which colours the tooth violet.

Preventative
Preventative means to stop something in advance. A preventative medical treatment is carried out in order to avoid a larger illness like caries or gingivitis.

Revision
Revision is the taking out of a root canal treatment that has already been done and which has led to a suppurative focus on the tip of the root.

Sand blaster
The sand blaster is a tool used to shoot aluminiumoxid sand onto the tooth with high pressure. It can then be used to create a hole in exactly the same way that a drill was used, however there are none of the normal drilling noises to be heard. Furthermore, less heat is generated than with the drill and for that reason the sensation of pain is much lower.

Specialists for Endodontology
In the USA there are dentists which are specially trained for root canal treatments. These dentists are called "Specialists for Endodontology".

Stand pictures
Photos are taken during the treatment using a digital camera that is affixed to the microscope.

Technical work
If a hole in the tooth is too large for a plastic filling, then an impression of the tooth is made which is used by the technician to create an inlay, crown or a bridge. All these works are collectively known as "technical work".

Technical material
JThe material which is used by the technician for the creation of the technical work is known as technical material.

Technician
The technician creates the inlays, crowns, bridges or veneers that the dentists insert into the mouth.

Therapy, therapeutic
Following the examination and diagnosis comes the (therapy).

Excess removal
Many liquid materials are processed in the mouth, like plastic or cement, which become hard after a while; if too much of the material is used then it must be removed at the end of the treatment, otherwise it can lead to illness itself. The removal of this hardened material is known as excess removal.

Veneers, ceramic veneers
VVeneers are "shells", that are usually stuck to the outside of teeth for aesthetic reasons. Veneers are usually made out of ceramic.

Sealing
During sealing, fissures – these are the "pits" on the chewing surface – are closed with plastic, in order to make the penetration of bacteria into the tooth impossible.

VMK crown, Screen-Metal-Ceramic Crown
This crown is composed of a metal core on the inside with ceramic burnt onto the outside. The metal (a gold alloy) serves to provide durability and stability and the ceramic gives the crown a natural tooth colouring.

Root canal treatment
In the root of a tooth are nerves and blood vessels. When the tooth dies, the blood vessels and the nerves begin to rot and the putrefactive bacteria cause a suppurative focus to form at the tip of the root. During the root canal treatment a rubber stick (usually Gutta-percha) is stuck into the root in order to remove the putrefactive bacteria.

ZahnArt
ZZahnArt describes my wish to also use my surgical premises for vernissages and art objects.

Plaque
WPlaque forms when bacteria and residual food collect around the tooth and can’t be removed with a toothbrush, dental floss or interstitial tooth brush.

Dental floss
A specially created thread that is used to clean the interstitial tooth space, which makes up 30% of the tooth surface and which can’t be cleaned with a toothbrush.

Tartar
WWhen plaque is not cleaned for a longer period of time, the minerals in the plaque form deposits and the plaque hardens. It can no longer be cleaned away with a toothbrush and is called tartar.

Interstital flossing toothbrush
The interstitial flossing toothbrush looks like a small bottle brush. When we get older, the gum between the teeth pulls back and there is an interstitial tooth space left. This can only really be kept clean with an interstitial flossing toothbrush.

Cementation, Cementation process
Cementation or the cementation process is understood as being the workstep in which the technical work is “glued” onto the tooth.

Cement fissure
The cement fissure is the fissure between the technical work and the tooth.

Zinc phosphate cement
Zinc phosphate cement has been used in dentistry for decades for the insertion of Gold or VMK work. It actively kills off bacteria and is therefore the preferred cement if there is no large fissue at the edge of the technical work.