alveolar vs dental

alveolar

adj
  • Formed with the tongue touching or approaching the inner ridge of the gums of the upper front teeth. 

  • Relating to the jaw ridge containing the tooth sockets. 

  • Relating to the glands with secretory cells about a central space. 

  • Relating to the alveoli (small air sacs) of the lungs. 

noun
  • An alveolar consonant. 

dental

adj
  • Made with the tip of the tongue touching the upper front teeth or the alveolar ridge. 

  • Of or concerning the teeth. 

  • Of or concerning dentistry. 

noun
  • Cleaning and polishing of an animal's teeth. 

  • A dental sound. 

How often have the words alveolar and dental occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )