Dentin

Description

The primary, bone-like structure of a tooth. Dentin is hard calcareous material, with less porosity and less organic matter than bone. It is generally covered with a protective enamel layer. Layers of dentin cover animal teeth (whale, hippopotamus, boar, etc.) and tusks (ivory, elephant, walrus, etc.).

Synonyms and Related Terms

dentine; dentina (Esp., Port.); dentine (Fr.); Dentin (Deut.); dentine (Ned.)

Authority

• Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Caring for your Collections, Arthur W Schulz (ed.), Harry N. Abrams, Inc. , New York, 1992