Category: P

Process by which a patient’s condition is determined. Called also patient assessment.  

Descriptive term referring to the array of questionnaires, interview schedules and other related methods of assessing health, illness, and benefits of healthcare interventions from the patient’s perspective. A patient‐based outcome measure that addresses constructs such as health‐related quality of life, subjective health status, and functional status; used as a primary or secondary endpoint in clinical…

A disease entity; a morbid condition, the current state of being with disease.  

Specifically distinctive, characteristic or symptomatic of a disease. A sign or symptom on which a diagnosis can be made. A symptom or group of symptoms that are specifically diagnostic or typical of a disease. Referring to a symptom which is typical and characteristic, and which indicates that someone has a particular disease. Describing a sign…

An abnormal occlusal relationship with the potential to produce pathologic changes in the masticatory system.  

The mechanism by which a disease starts and progresses. The cellular events and reactions that occur in the development of disease. The development of disease; pathologic mechanisms. The origin, production and development of a morbid or diseased condition. An agent that is the causative agent of a disease; for example, bacteria. The ways in which…

Any disease‐producing microorganism. A virus, bacterium, parasitic protozoan, or other microorganism that causes infectious disease by invading the body of an organism known as the host. It should be noted that infection is not synonymous with disease because infection does not always lead to injury of the host. An agent that causes disease, such as…

Open, not obstructed: the specific unobstructed route in which a removable dental prosthesis (or the precementation stage of a fixed dental prosthesis) may be removed. Spreading, held at 90° from the subtending axis; sometimes used for ‘shiny’ but that is for leather, not for botany! Sticking out± at right-angles. A document that confers a special…

In reference to dental implants, the property of the oxidized layer on the surface of the metal that allows it to not break down under physiological conditions. A characteristic of persons suffering from depression. The inability of a person to act directly on his or her environment. In the realm of psychology, an enduring resistance…

Adaptation of one component to another in a manner that does not impart strain. In dental implant prosthodontics, the creation of passively fitting prostheses is desirable.