BCaldwell Dentist band – metal ring cemented in place around a tooth to allow brackets to attach to the teethbanding – orthodontic process of fitting and cementing bands to teethbase – insulating substance used beneath restorations to protect tooth pulp from changes in temperaturebenefit – payment for covered dental services by third party insurerbenign – a term used to indicate mild, non-threatening, or non-malignantbicuspid – tooth located in front of the molars and behind cuspidsbilateral – term meaning both right and left sides are indicatedbiopsy – the removal of a small amount of tissue for examination and/or testingbioinert – material property indicating it causes no physical reaction, such as inflammation or immune responsebite/occlusion – physical relationship between upper and lower teeth when closedbleaching – whitening of the teeth, generally using a chemical oxidizing agent and/or laser treatmentblock injection – anesthetic placed to cause numbness over a large area of the jaw and mouthblock graft – bone graft stabilized with screw, generally used to correct large bone defectbond – mechanical or chemical adhesion connecting two surfaces, orthodontic appliance sealbonding – process of attaching brackets to teeth for braces or restoring teeth with composite resin to repair tooth color or shapebone atrophy/resorption – loss of bone in jaw, commonly caused by periodontal diseasebraces – orthodontic devices used to reposition teeth over time to correct misalignment, generally consisting of brackets and archwiresbracket – ceramic or metal piece cemented to the tooth to hold an archwire for orthodontic treatmentbridge/partial denture – dental prosthetic device used to replace one or more missing teeth, generally attaches to surrounding teeth or implants for supportbruxism – involuntary grinding of the teeth, usually while sleeping, often causing tooth wear, sensitivity, headaches, and jaw painbuccal – referring to or toward the cheek