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dental hygiene

1. The practice of keeping the mouth, teeth, and gums clean and healthy, as by regular brushing and flossing and preventive dental care.

2. The state of one's oral health, resulting from this practice or its neglect. Also called oral hygiene.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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