Glossary

Dental AI glossary: every term in AI dental analysis

Plain definitions for the words that come up in AI dental analysis, tooth shade matching and whitening — from chromogens and CIE Lab to delta E and VITA tabs.

A

AI caries detection
Machine learning trained to flag radiolucencies on X-rays that suggest decay, including early interproximal lesions a human eye can miss. It is a diagnostic aid, not a diagnosis: the dentist confirms every finding.
AI dental analysis
The use of machine learning to read dental images and records — radiographs, intraoral photos, scans — and report findings such as decay, bone level, restorations or tooth colour. Clinical AI systems analyse X-rays for a dentist; consumer tools like teewai analyse a phone photo for shade, whiteness and visible staining.How teewai analyses a smile →
AI dental radiograph analysis
Automated review of bitewing, periapical and panoramic X-rays, usually with findings drawn onto the image and a confidence score attached to each. It is a clinical, FDA-cleared category of dental AI and always sits under a dentist’s diagnosis.
AI periodontal analysis
Measurement of radiographic bone level over time to track periodontal disease progression, plus automated charting of pocket depths. It turns a series of X-rays into a trend rather than a single snapshot.
Algorithmic bias
Systematic error that appears when a model performs worse for a group it saw less often during training — for example different accuracy across skin tones. Evaluating a dental AI tool means asking how it was validated and on whom.
Anterior teeth
The front teeth — incisors and canines. They are what a smile photo shows and what whitening changes most visibly, which is why shade is almost always read from the anterior arch.

B

b* value
The yellow–blue axis in CIE Lab colour space. Tooth colour is judged mainly on b*: the higher the value, the more yellow the tooth reads, and whitening works by lowering it.CIE Lab explained →
Bleaching
Whitening that changes tooth colour chemically, using hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide to break down the pigment molecules inside enamel and dentin. Distinct from optical whitening, which only adds a film of violet pigment.

C

Calculus (tartar)
Mineralised plaque that has hardened on the tooth surface, usually along the gum line. It cannot be brushed away and only a professional cleaning removes it; it also traps stain, so teeth look darker where it sits.
Caries
Tooth decay — the demineralisation of enamel and dentin caused by acid from bacterial fermentation of sugar. On a radiograph it shows as a darker (radiolucent) area; in a photo it is not reliably visible.
Chromogen
A pigment molecule that attaches to the tooth surface and stains it. Coffee, tea, red wine, cola and turmeric are rich in chromogens; the strength of a drink’s staining is a mix of chromogen load, acidity and tannins.Chromogen science →
CIE Lab colour space
A device-independent colour model with three axes: L* (lightness), a* (red–green) and b* (yellow–blue). Because it does not depend on a camera sensor, it is the standard for measuring tooth colour objectively and comparing scans over time.Why dentists measure in CIE Lab →
Colorimetry
The measurement of colour by numbers rather than by eye. In dentistry it replaces the subjective "hold a shade tab up and guess" method with a calibrated reading, which is what makes progress tracking possible.
Computer vision
The field of AI that extracts meaning from images — finding a tooth boundary, reading a shade, checking that lighting is even. A smile scan is a computer vision pipeline: detect, segment, calibrate, measure.Inside the teewai pipeline →

D

Delta E (ΔE)
The numeric distance between two colours in CIE Lab — how different they look. A ΔE under about 1 is invisible to the eye; above roughly 3.5 the difference is obvious even to an untrained observer.
Dental AI
The umbrella term for machine learning applied to dentistry: imaging diagnostics, insurance claim review, charting, voice notes and patient-facing shade analysis. Vendor claims vary enormously, so "dental AI" describes a category, not a capability.
Dentin
The layer beneath enamel, naturally yellower and more opaque. As enamel thins with age or erosion, more dentin shows through — one reason teeth look yellower that whitening can only partly change.Why teeth look yellow →

E

Enamel
The translucent, hardest outer layer of the tooth. It has no living cells and cannot regrow, so whitening routines are judged on whether they preserve it.
Enamel erosion
Chemical wear of enamel by acid — from drinks, reflux or vomiting — leaving a thinner, more transparent, yellower-looking surface. It is not a stain, and bleaching does not restore lost thickness.
Extrinsic stain
Discoloration on the outside of the tooth from food, drink, tobacco or mouthwash. It responds best to cleaning and whitening because the pigment sits on the surface.

F

FDA clearance
The US regulatory route for a medical device that is substantially equivalent to one already on the market. When a dental AI vendor cites "FDA cleared", it describes a specific cleared indication, not blanket accuracy.
Fluorosis
White or brown mottling of enamel from excess fluoride during tooth development. It is intrinsic, so it behaves differently from stain under whitening and sometimes needs professional treatment.

G

Gingiva
The gums. Gum health changes what a photo can measure: inflammation alters colour at the gum line, so a scan reads gum tone separately from tooth shade.

H

HIPAA
The US law governing protected health information. It applies to clinicians and their vendors; a consumer wellness app that is not a covered entity is not "HIPAA certified", though it should still publish how it stores and deletes photos.

I

Intraoral scan
A 3D digital impression of the mouth taken with an intraoral scanner, used for crowns, aligners and restoration planning. It captures shape, not colour accuracy.
Intrinsic stain
Discoloration inside the tooth — from tetracycline, fluorosis, trauma, age or pulp changes. It is harder to shift than surface stain and often needs professional bleaching or a restoration.

L

L* value
The lightness axis in CIE Lab, running from black to white. For teeth it is the closest single number to "how white", and most whiteness scores are dominated by it.
Lesion detection
The task of locating an abnormality in an image and boxing it. In dental AI the term usually refers to caries, periapical radiolucency and bone loss, and every detection carries a confidence score for the clinician to accept or reject.
Light calibration (white balance)
Correcting for the colour of the light a photo was taken in, using a known white object as a reference. Without it, the same teeth read warmer in a bathroom and cooler by a window — the single largest source of error in a phone-based shade scan.How a white reference card fixes it →

O

Occlusal surface
The biting surface of a back tooth. It collects stain in pits and fissures and is usually the darkest part of a smile photo, which is why shade is read from the front teeth instead.

P

Panoramic radiograph
A single X-ray showing the whole jaw, all teeth and the sinuses. Dental AI can measure bone level and flag findings across the entire arch from one image.
Periapical radiograph
A close-up X-ray of one or two teeth including the root tip, used to look for infection around the root. It is one of the image types clinical dental AI is trained on.
Periodontal pocket
The gap between tooth and gum, measured in millimetres with a probe. Deeper pockets indicate attachment loss; radiographic AI infers the same trend from bone height.
Plaque
The soft, sticky biofilm of bacteria that forms within hours of brushing. It is the precursor to calculus and decay, and it dulls the tooth surface so light reflects less evenly.

R

Remineralisation
The repair of demineralised enamel by calcium and phosphate from saliva and fluoride. It is why early lesions can arrest, and why a whitening routine is paired with fluoride rather than acid.

S

Shade tab
A physical reference chip of known colour from a shade guide, held beside the teeth to compare. Tabs work well in a dentist’s controlled light and poorly in a phone photo, which is why digital colorimetry exists.Reading the VITA shade guide →
Spectrophotometer
A clinical instrument that measures the light a tooth reflects at each wavelength and returns a shade and CIE Lab values. Accurate and office-bound — the benchmark consumer photo analysis is compared against.

T

Tannins
Polyphenols in tea, wine and some fruit that bind to tooth surfaces and help chromogens stick. They make a drink stain more than its colour alone would suggest.
Tetracycline staining
Grey-brown intrinsic bands caused by tetracycline antibiotics taken during tooth development. It is one of the few stains that may need veneers or extended professional bleaching rather than a home routine.
Tooth whitening
Any method that increases the lightness of teeth: peroxide bleaching, abrasive toothpaste, or optical films. They differ in whether they change the tooth or just change how it looks in the moment.Whitening methods compared →

V

VITA Bleachedguide 3D-MASTER
A shade guide with the extra-light shades (0M1 and up) used after bleaching, where the classical A1 top end is not light enough to describe the result.
VITA Classical shade guide
The A1–D4 shade system dentists use, organised by hue (A red-brown, B red-yellow, C grey, D red-grey) and chroma. A1 is the lightest tab; a shade match is expressed as the closest tab.The VITA guide decoded →

W

White reference card
A plain, uniformly white object photographed beside the teeth so software can measure the light and correct for it. A coffee filter or index card works; a printed card is better because its whiteness is known.Reference cards explained →

X

Xerostomia (dry mouth)
Reduced saliva flow. Saliva dilutes and washes away chromogens, so a dry mouth usually means faster staining and less remineralisation.

Y

Yellowness (tooth)
The perceived amount of yellow in a tooth, driven by dentin colour showing through enamel and by extrinsic stain. It is measured on the b* axis rather than judged by eye.

Z

Zirconia
A tooth-coloured ceramic used for crowns and bridges. It does not bleach, so a restoration keeps its shade while the natural teeth around it lighten — a common reason a whitened smile looks uneven.

AI dental analysis: common questions

What is AI dental analysis?+

AI dental analysis is the use of machine learning to read dental images and report findings. In a clinic that means X-rays reviewed for decay, bone loss or restorations; in teewai it means a phone photo analysed for tooth shade, whiteness and visible surface staining.

Can AI analyse my teeth from a photo?+

For colour and visible surface staining, yes. A photo carries enough information to measure lightness, yellow-blue balance and shade against the VITA scale once the light is calibrated. It cannot see through enamel, so it cannot detect decay, gum disease or bone loss.

Is AI dental analysis as accurate as a dentist?+

No, and it is not meant to be. Clinical dental AI is a second pair of eyes for a trained dentist, and a consumer photo scan is a measurement tool for tracking your own smile over time. Anything that needs a diagnosis belongs in a dental chair.

What can dental AI detect on X-rays?+

FDA-cleared clinical systems typically flag caries, periapical radiolucency, bone loss and existing restorations, and can measure bone level over time. Every finding is presented for a dentist to confirm rather than acted on automatically.

Is my smile photo used to train AI models?+

Not at teewai. Photos are used to produce your score and kept in your private account, and they are never sold or used as training data. You can delete a scan at any time.

What is the difference between a shade match and a whiteness score?+

A shade match names the closest VITA tab, so it reads the way a dentist would speak about your teeth. A whiteness score condenses the same measurement into a 0–100 number so small changes are easy to track between scans.

See the measurement, not just the definition

Scan your smile once and get a whiteness score, a VITA shade match and a visible stain estimate — the same vocabulary this glossary uses, applied to your own teeth.

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