Tartar
The hardened product of minerals from saliva and foods that accumulates in plaque around the teeth. Dental plaque and tartar cause periodontal disease, including inflammation of the bone surrounding the teeth. Tartar can become as hard as rock, becoming removable only by a dentist or dental hygienist with special tools.
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- Tassinari syndrome
A form of epilepsy associated with language difficulties. The syndrome surfaces around the age of four with receptive or expressive dysphasia and slowed learning. There may be absence, myoclonic, or focal seizures. The cause of the syndrome is unknown. Treatment is with seizure medications. The condition usually improves by adulthood. Also called CSWS (Continuous Spike […]
- Taste
sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. In the mouth, these tastes, along with texture, temperature, and the sensations from the common chemical sense, combine with odors to produce the perception of flavor. Flavors are recognized mainly through the sense of smell. If a person holds his or her nose while eating chocolate, for example, the person […]
- Taste bud
One of the tiny, barrel-shaped endings of the gustatory nerve located around the base of the papillae (small bumps) on the tongue.
- Tattoo
The permanent insertion of ink below the skin, using a sharp instrument. Humans have done tattooing for cosmetic and ritual purposes since at least the Neolithic era. Today the practice is made relatively safe by the use of nonreactive pigments; sterile, disposable needles; and sterile work conditions. Without these refinements, inks may cause inflammation, and […]
- Tattoo removal
Removal of a tattoo, as with the use of lasers to destroy the ink itself. Multiple treatments may be necessary, depending on the size of the piece and the inks used. Some tattoos cannot be completely removed with lasers, and lasers may scar some types of skin.