The
interdental plate refers to the
boneBones are rigid organs that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
-filled
mesial-distalStandard anatomical terms of location are employed in science which deal with the anatomy of animals to avoid ambiguities which might otherwise arise. They are not language-specific, and thus require no translation...
region between the
teethTeeth are small, calcified, whitish structures found in the jaws of many vertebrates that are used to tear, scrape, and chew food. Some animals, particularly carnivores, also use teeth for hunting or defense. The roots of teeth are covered by gums...
. The word "
interdental" is a combination of "
inter" + "
dental" (meaning "
between the teeth") which originated in approximately 1870. In
paleobiologyPaleobiology is a growing and comparatively new discipline which combines the methods and findings of the natural science biology with the methods and findings of the earth science paleontology...
, the presence or absence of the interdental plate can determine the place of an animal in the
evolutionary scaleIn biology, evolution is change in the genetic material of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. Though changes produced in any one generation are normally small, differences accumulate with each generation and can, over time, cause substantial changes in the population, a...
, and paleontologists use the interdental plate when trying to classify a new specimen.
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The
interdental plate refers to the
boneBones are rigid organs that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
-filled
mesial-distalStandard anatomical terms of location are employed in science which deal with the anatomy of animals to avoid ambiguities which might otherwise arise. They are not language-specific, and thus require no translation...
region between the
teethTeeth are small, calcified, whitish structures found in the jaws of many vertebrates that are used to tear, scrape, and chew food. Some animals, particularly carnivores, also use teeth for hunting or defense. The roots of teeth are covered by gums...
. The word "
interdental" is a combination of "
inter" + "
dental" (meaning "
between the teeth") which originated in approximately 1870. In
paleobiologyPaleobiology is a growing and comparatively new discipline which combines the methods and findings of the natural science biology with the methods and findings of the earth science paleontology...
, the presence or absence of the interdental plate can determine the place of an animal in the
evolutionary scaleIn biology, evolution is change in the genetic material of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. Though changes produced in any one generation are normally small, differences accumulate with each generation and can, over time, cause substantial changes in the population, a...
, and paleontologists use the interdental plate when trying to classify a new specimen.
ThecodontThecodont , now considered an obsolete term, was formerly used to describe a diverse range of early archosaurs that first appeared in the Latest Permian and flourished until the end of the Triassic period...
reptiles and theropod dinosaur fossils have an interdental plate, whereas
acrodontAcrodont is a formation of the teeth whereby the teeth are consolidated with the summit of the alveolar ridge of the jaw without sockets. The term also refers to species of reptiles that have such a formation. This formation is common in the order Squamata, with the only other teeth formation in...
reptiles such as
SphenodontiaSphenodontia is an order of lizard-like reptiles that includes only one living genus, the tuatara . Despite its current lack of diversity, the Sphenodontia at one time included a wide array of genera in several families, and represents a lineage stretching back to the Mesozoic...
do not. Its presence in
ArchaeopteryxArchaeopteryx, sometimes referred to by its German name Urvogel , is the earliest and most primitive bird known...
, an extinct
avianBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
, resulted in the proposal of the
dinosaur-bird connectionThe origin of birds is a contentious and central topic within evolutionary biology. A close relationship between birds and dinosaurs was first proposed in the nineteenth century after the discovery of the primitive bird Archaeopteryx in Germany...
.
The term can also be used to refer to a manufactured object designed to be placed or worn between the teeth. An example would be a dental prosthetic designed to prevent contact between the teeth while the wearer is
sleepingSleep is a naturally recurring state of relatively suspended sensory and motor activity, characterized by total or partial unconsciousness and the inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and it is more easily...
. relates to an apparatus designed to measure the pressure exerted by the
tongueThe tongue is a muscle on the floor of the mouth that manipulates food for chewing and swallowing . It is the primary organ of taste, as much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds. A secondary function of the tongue is speech, in which the organ assists...
as a means of diagnosing ailments related to swallowing.
See also
- Interdental consonant
Interdental consonants are produced by placing the blade of the tongue against the upper incisors. This differs from a dental consonant in that the tip of the tongue is placed between the upper and lower front teeth, and therefore may articulate with both the upper and lower incisors, while a...
- Interdental lisp
- Interdental woodstick
- Unvoiced interdental fricative
- Voiced interdental fricative
- Voiceless interdental fricative