alveolar ridge
- noun
- /ælˈviːələr rɪdʒ/
- Specialized
:
cresta alveolar
- The dentist examined the patient's alveolar ridge to check for any signs of gum disease.
Examples
-
For the maximum tongue pressure task, participants placed the IOPI air-filled bulb on the tongue body behind the alveolar ridge and were instructed to press their tongue against the bulb as hard as they could.
Academic text (2012) -
Case 6 was that of a 54-year-old housewife who presented with a swelling over the right maxillary alveolar ridge.
Academic text (2005) -
Your tongue is reaching toward the alveolar Ridge, but they're not the same.
-
If contact was registered between the tongue and lower alveolar ridge, it was assumed that there was no sublingual cavity.
Academic text (2011) -
A facial scar can be avoided by using the Le Fort I osteotomy, but this technique requires fixation of the alveolar ridge.
Academic text (2010) -
Intraoperatively, we noted that a large multilobulated mass had eroded the maxilla, including the maxillary floor, the palatal area, and the alveolar ridge.
Academic text (2005) -
To properly fit the dentures, it is essential to measure the size of the alveolar ridge.
-
A healthy alveolar ridge is important for maintaining proper tooth alignment and stability.
Synonyms
A raised part of the jaw bone that holds the sockets of the teeth
A raised part of the jawbone that holds the teeth
A curved part of the upper or lower jaw that holds the teeth
The part of the jawbone that holds the tooth sockets and supports teeth
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'alveolar' refers to the jaw/area holding teeth and 'ridge' denotes a raised narrow structure, so together they denote the raised bony border containing tooth sockets. Despite being technical medical vocabulary, the relation is fully predictable from the constituents and mirrors similar compounds in other languages, so a learner who knows both words can infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Alveolar ridge comes from the idea of a raised edge in the mouth: alveolar links to a 'small hollow' that holds tooth roots and ridge means a raised edge, so the alveolar ridge is the bony line that holds the tooth sockets and helps make some speech sounds when the tongue touches it.
