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Affixes: the building blocks of English
Affixes: the building blocks of English
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dent(i)- Also dento-.

A tooth; tooth-like.

[Latin dens, dent-, tooth.]

A dentist looks after one's teeth; a denture is a plate containing artificial teeth; dentition is the arrangement or condition of the teeth in the mouth; a dentifrice (Latin fricare, to rub) is a paste or powder for cleaning the teeth; dentine is the hard dense bony tissue forming the bulk of a tooth, beneath the enamel. The adjective dentofacial refers to teeth and jaws together and by extension to the shape of the face, dentogingival to the teeth and gums.

Something dentate has a tooth-like or serrated edge, while something denticulate (Latin denticulus, small tooth) is finely dentate, for example the edge of a leaf, or has dentils, small rectangular blocks resembling teeth, used as a decoration under the moulding of a cornice in classical architecture. See also odonto-.

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