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Glite Dictionary
primary dentition

primary dentition

4.4
The first set of baby teeth that children have
  • noun
  • /ˈpraɪˌmɛri dɛnˈtɪʃən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : dentición primaria
  • The dentist explained that primary dentition usually begins to appear around six months of age.

Examples

  • Good oral hygiene is important to maintain primary dentition until the permanent teeth come in.

  • All of the children with CLP and six of the children without CLP were in mixed dentition; two children without CLP were in primary dentition.

    Academic text (2012)

  • Many parents are concerned about their child's primary dentition and its effect on speech development.

Surface Forms

primary dentition singular
primary dentitions plural

Morphology

primary + dentition

The meaning 'the first set of teeth (baby teeth)' is directly compositional from 'primary' (first, initial) + 'dentition' (the set/eruption of teeth), so the overall sense is predictable from the parts. This is a standard technical noun phrase following English compounding patterns (and similar terms exist in other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will understand it.

Etymology

Primary dentition comes from its parts: primary means 'first' and dentition means 'teeth'. It describes the 'baby teeth' that come in first and are later replaced by permanent teeth.