The adaptation in various languages of standardized periodontal terminology to recent acquisitions.

Before nomenclatorial translation can be begun, an approved definition of the term concerned is required, as is a systematic classification of related designations. Existing sources are bi- or multi-lingual dictionaries and glossaries but relatively few of these cover oral biology and dentistry in adequate detail. Much of the terminology developed for specialized fields of medicine is applicable to dentistry in general and periodontology in particular but the proliferation of new terms in English/American cannot always be matched appropriately in other languages. Examples of a uniform periodontal terminology in English, French and German--prepared for the impending revision of the FDI Dental Lexicon--are tabulated.