Dentist: A Profession Named Straight From the Latin for Tooth
A dentist treats teeth and gums. The word arrived from French in the eighteenth century and was mocked at the time as pretentious foreign nonsense.
A dentist diagnoses and treats problems of the teeth, gums and mouth. The word was not welcomed: when it crossed from French in the 1750s, English writers complained that a perfectly good word, tooth-drawer, already existed. Tooth-drawer lost.
- A dental practitioner. *An appointment with the dentist.*
- The surgery itself. *I am going to the dentist's.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | dentist | A family dentist. |
| Noun | dentistry | A degree in dentistry. |
| Adjective | dental | Dental hygiene. |
| Person | dental hygienist | See the hygienist twice a year. |
| Person | orthodontist | Referred to an orthodontist. |
How it is used in a sentence
- I have to go to the dentist on Thursday.The dentist can mean the person or the surgery.
- Dental treatment is free for children here.The adjective.
- Like pulling teeth.An idiom for anything requiring extreme effort.
Who does what with teeth
- Dentist — general diagnosis and treatment
- Dental hygienist — cleaning and preventive care
- Orthodontist — alignment of teeth and jaws, including braces
- Endodontist — root canal treatment
- Oral surgeon — surgical procedures including extractions and implants
From French *dentiste*, from *dent*, tooth, from Latin *dens*. The same root gives dental, denture, dandelion — from *dent de lion*, lion's tooth, for the shape of its leaves — and indent, meaning to notch.
Dentist or dental surgeon?
Dental surgeon is the formal British title. Dentist is what everyone actually says.
Why is a dandelion a tooth?
From French *dent de lion*, lion's tooth, describing the jagged edges of the leaves.