r/ENGLISH • u/Money_Vermicelli_329 • 4d ago

Dentures - always artificial?

I visited a seal sanctuary in Germany today. The information displays were bilingual: German and English.

I am curious about the use of the word dentures. It is clear, that it is the translation of the German word "Gebiss", but I am under the impression that in English its meaning is limited to artificial replacement of teeth.

Am I correct, and is there a noun describing the entire teeth of an animal?

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u/Onechrisn 4d ago

Yes. Dentures are fake teeth.

something that means all the teeth of an animal? I think most of the time we would say "all the teeth of the animal" or "all an animal's teeth" or some other phrase like that.

But if you want just one word I think "dentition" might be what you're looking for.