page_title: Glossary of dentistry
section_title: Terms
hierarchical_section_title: Glossary of dentistry / Terms
caption_attribution_description: English: Diagram of the 4 quadrants of the human dentition
context_page_description: This is a list of definitions of commonly used terms of location and direction in dentistry. This set of terms provides orientation within the oral cavity, much as anatomical terms of location provide orientation throughout the body.
context_section_description: Anterior
  The direction toward the front of the head or the lips, as opposed to posterior, which refers to the directions toward the back of an individual's head.  The term anterior teeth refers to incisors and canines, as opposed to premolars and molars, which are posterior teeth.
   
  Apical
  The direction toward the root tip(s) or apex(es) of a tooth (the apices), as opposed to coronal, which refers to the direction toward the crown.  It may also refer to something relating to the roots, such as apical support.  When referring to direction in relation to entities on or of the crown, this term can be synonymous with both cervical and gingival.
   
  Axial
  A plane parallel to the surface of a tooth.  For example, if a drill bur would be inserted into a tooth from any side (proximal, vestibular, oral), the depth of the hole is defined from the axial wall of the hole (from the long axis walls (vertical surfaces bounding the tooth)).
   
  Buccal
  The side of a tooth that is adjacent to (or the direction toward) the inside of the cheek, as opposed to lingual or palatal (both oral), which refer to the side of a tooth adjacent to (or the direction toward) the tongue or palate, respectively.  Although technically referring only to posterior teeth (where the cheeks are present instead of lips, use of this term has incorrectly extended to all teeth, anterior and posterior), this term has inaccurately been employed to describe the vestibular surface of (or directions in relation to) anterior teeth as well.
   
  Cervical
  Means neck in Latin (as in cervical vertebrae), and refers to the narrowing of the contours of the tooth surface at or near the CEJ, where the crown meets the root.  When referring to direction in relation to entities on or of the crown, it is nearly synonymous with both apical and gingival.
   
  Coronal
  The direction toward the crown of a tooth, as opposed to apical, which refers to the direction toward the tip(s) of the root(s) or apex(es).  It may also refer to something relating to the crown, such as coronal forces.
   
  Distal
  The direction toward the gingiva beyond the tooth furthest from the anterior midline (the 'most posterior tooth' or last tooth) in each quadrant of a dental arch, as opposed to mesial, which refers to the direction toward the anterior midline.  Each tooth can be described as having a distal surface and, for posterior teeth, a distobuccal (DB) and a distolingual (DL) corner or cusp.
   
  Facial
  The side of a tooth that is adjacent to (or the direction toward) the inside of the lips, as opposed to lingual or palatal (both oral), which refer to the side of a tooth adjacent to (or the direction toward) the tongue or palate, respectively, of the oral cavity.  However, this term has been incorrectly used for both buccal and labial, being also applied to the side of a tooth that is adjacent to (or the direction toward) the inside of the cheek (instead of the more accurate term, vestibular).
   
  Gingival
  The direction toward the gingiva (gums), synonymous with cervical and similar to apical.  However, locations on teeth already more apical to the interface of the crown and root, referred to as the CEJ, tend not to be described using this term, as it would lead to confusion, as the exact definition is ambiguous.  Additionally, this term would not be used when referring to a tooth ex vivo.
   
  Incisal
  The direction toward the biting edge of anterior teeth or something relating to this edge, such as the terms incisal guidance or incisal edge.  This is the sister term to occlusal, which related to the analogous location on posterior teeth.
   
  Inferior
  The direction toward the feet of a human's body, as opposed to superior, which refers to the direction toward the head.  However, use of these terms should enjoy only limited usage when discussing features of a tooth, as, for example, something more inferior on a mandibular tooth will be situated more superior on a maxillary tooth, as they exhibit an inverted relationship.  It is for this reason that the terms coronal and apical are substituted.
   
  Interproximal
  An adjective meanin
caption: Dental quadrants
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