Meaning & use
primary dentition
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablemedicaltechnical
The first set of twenty teeth that a child grows, which later fall out and are replaced by permanent teeth.
Grammar: Usually uncountable and used by dentists: the primary dentition, not 'a primary dentition'.
Patterns
- the primary dentition of a child
The dentist checked that the child's primary dentition was coming in normally.
By about age three, the primary dentition is usually complete.
Cavities in the primary dentition can affect the permanent teeth that follow.
Common combinations
- complete primary dentition
- By age three, most children have a complete primary dentition.
- eruption of the primary dentition
- The eruption of the primary dentition usually starts around six months.
- care of the primary dentition
- Good care of the primary dentition prevents pain and infection.
- loss of the primary dentition
- Loss of the primary dentition begins around age six.
Synonyms and how they differ
- baby teeth
- Baby teeth is the everyday phrase, whereas primary dentition is clinical and refers to the whole set.
- milk teeth
- Milk teeth is mostly British and informal, while primary dentition is the formal clinical term.
- deciduous teeth
- Deciduous teeth is another technical name stressing that these teeth fall out, like leaves from a tree.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: primary dentition or mixed dentition? primary dentition or denture?
primary dentition vs mixed dentition
Mixed dentition is the stage when a child has both baby teeth and adult teeth, usually from age six to twelve.
primary dentition vs denture
A denture is a set of false teeth, while dentition means a person's natural teeth.
Practice
A dentist says a child's primary dentition is complete. This means the child has ______.
Choose one answer.
Primary dentition means the first set of teeth. A mix of both sets is called mixed dentition, which is the tempting wrong answer.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “primary dentition”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.