Baby teeth:

The first teeth, also called deciduous teeth; usually there are twenty baby teeth.

Base:

A cement applied under a filling or crown to decrease sensitivity to heat or cold and protect the filling.

Biopsy:

Removal of a small piece of tissue to determine if it is diseased.

Bite:

How the upper and lower teeth come together; may also be called occlusion.

Black hairy tongue:

Excessive growth of fungi that normally live in the mouth.

Block injection:

Anesthetizing a nerve that serves a large area of the jaw, usually the lower jaw; may numb teeth, tongue and half of the jaw in that area.

Bonding:

Applying a tooth-colored resin to repair and/or change the color or shape of a tooth, most often a front tooth.

Bone loss:

Decrease in bone supporting the roots of teeth; a common result of gum disease.

Bone resorption:

The gradual loss of bone. Orthodontists use this process to "pull" teeth through bone to new positions.

Braces:

Devices used by orthodontists to gradually reposition teeth.

Bridge:

Appliance cemented to teeth adjacent to a space that replaces one or more missing teeth; usually cemented or attached to teeth or implants adjacent to the space.

Bruxism:

Involuntary, "nervous" grinding of the teeth while the patient is asleep.

Bruxomania:

Involuntary, "nervous" grinding of the teeth while the patient is awake.