Category: F
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Fatigue
The breaking or fracturing of a material caused by repeated cyclic or applied loads below the yield limit; usually viewed initially as minute cracks followed by tearing and rupture; also termed brittle failure or metal fracture. A diminished capacity for work as a result of prolonged or excessive exertion. The desire or need to rest.…
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Familial
A condition that occurs in members of a family. Pertaining to characteristics that tend to run in families and have a higher incidence in certain families than in the general population. To some factor (e.g., a disease or characteristic), usually but not always inherited, that is present in some families but not in others, occurring…
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Failure rate
The percentage of failures in a study or clinical trial, of a procedure or device (e.g., dental implant), according to defined criteria.
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Failing implant
General term for a dental implant that is progressively losing its supporting bone anchorage. It may exhibit increased probing depth or purulence, but is still clinically stable.
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Failed implant
A dental implant that is mobile (has not achieved or has lost osseointegration), or that is symptomatic in spite of osseointegration.
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Facultative
Voluntary; possessing the power to do or not to do a thing. Capable of existing under different conditions, as a microorganism that can exist in either aerobic or anaerobic conditions. (Of life form or habitat requirement) occasional or incidental, as opposed to obligatory or necessary. Able to adjust to different environments or conditions (e.g., facultative…
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Facing
A veneer of a restoration on a natural tooth or prosthetic device to alter, duplicate, or improve upon the appearance of a natural tooth. A veneer of restorative material used on a tooth or on a prosthesis to simulate a natural tooth.
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Facial symmetry
Mutually balanced relationship of facial parts relative to size, arrangement, or measurements.
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Facial prosthetic adhesive
A substance used to retain a facial prosthesis in its proper position.
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Facial prosthesis
A maxillofacial prosthetic device that restores a portion of the face that is congenitally absent or altered due to surgery or trauma. Also called an extraoral prosthesis or prosthetic dressing.