dental
/ˈdɛntl/
noun
- A dental consonant sound.
- In phonetics, 't' and 'd' can be dentals in some languages.
- Spanish has several dentals that English speakers often find tricky.
- The student practiced pronouncing dentals by placing her tongue behind her teeth.
adjective
- Relating to teeth or dentistry.
- Good dental hygiene includes brushing and flossing every day.
- The clinic offers free dental checkups for children.
- She has a dental appointment next Tuesday for a cleaning.
- Relating to a type of speech sound made by placing the tongue against or near the teeth, such as /θ/ and /ð/ in English.
- The teacher explained how to produce a dental sound by touching the tongue to the upper teeth.
- In some languages, dental consonants are more common than in English.
- The 'th' sound in 'think' is a dental fricative.