American Dental Association

ADA Glossary Terms

  • alveolar

    Referring to the bone to which a tooth is attached.

  • alloy

    Compound combining two or more elements with properties not existing in single constituent elements. They are sometimes used to refer to amalgam.

  • alloplastic

    Refers to synthetic material often used for tissue augmentation or replacement.

  • allogenic

    Belonging to the same species, but genetically different. See graft.

  • adult dentition

    See the definition of permanent dentition.

  • adjunctive

    A secondary treatment in addition to the primary therapy.

  • adhesive

    Any substance that joins or creates close adherence of two or more surfaces. Intermediate material that causes two materials to adhere to each other.

  • adhesion

    State in which two surfaces are held together by chemical or physical forces or both with or without the aid of an adhesive. Adhesion is one aspect of bonding.

  • acid etching

    Use of an acidic chemical substance to prepare the tooth enamel and or dentin surface to provide retention for bonding.

  • accession

    Addition of a test specimen, previously collected by a health care provider, to a laboratory specimen collection; recording of essential specimen identification data in a laboratory-maintained file in chronological order of laboratory specimen acquisition; assignment to the specimen of an identification code.

Dr. Bryanna Hubbard

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