dentine, dentin Anat.
(ˈdɛntɪn)
[f. L. dent-em tooth + -ine.]
The hard tissue, resembling bone but usually denser, which forms the chief constituent of the teeth.
| 1840–5 Owen Odontography I. Introd. 3, I propose to call the substance which forms the main part of all teeth ‘dentine’..‘Dentine’ consists of an organized animal basis disposed in the form of extremely minute tubes and cells, and of earthy particles. 1878 T. Bryant Pract. Surg. I. 565 Well-formed dentine is uniformly dense and ivory-like. |