The origin of the terms enamel, dentine and cementum

Abstract

The scope of this article is to trace the origin of the terms enamel, dentine and cementum by searching the early dental literature. The task has been simplified by the eminent dental historian Ronald Cohen, whose article The development of dental histology in Britain provides an excellent starting point. 1 The situation was confused by the fact that both dentine and cementum were, on occasion, mistaken for bone. This was because, prior to the invention of the compound microscope around 1830, the histological structure of dental tissues was largely unknown. To add to the confusion, cementum was not always recognised as existing and there were multiple terms for all three dental hard tissues.