ADA Home Page
Catalog | Find a Dentist | Seal Program | Contact  
 
Dental Professionals Your Oral Health The ADA
Animations and Games
Careers
Students and Educators
Espanol
Events
Manage Your Oral Health
Media
Topics and Resources
A-Z TOPICS
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
HISTORY OF DENTISTRY
ORAL HEALTH LINKS

Oral Health Topics A–Z

Emblem/Insignia of Dentistry

 
  Overview
 


The Emblem/Insignia of DentistryOverview

This dental insignia was adopted by the American Dental Association in November 1965 as the official emblem of dentistry.

The design uses as its central figure a serpent entwined about an ancient Arabian cautery in the manner of the single serpent of Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine, coiled about a rod.

The Greek letter Δ (delta), for dentistry, and the Greek letter Ο (omicron), for odont (tooth) form the periphery of the design.

In the background of the design are 32 leaves and 20 berries, representative of the permanent and temporary teeth.

The suggested colors for the insignia are: the background, a shade of lilac—the official academic color of dentistry; the letter Ο in gold; the letter Δ in black; the cautery in gold outlined in black, and the leaves, berries and serpent merely outlined in black on the lilac background.

The National Association of Dental Faculties in 1897 chose the color lilac as the profession’s major color. The color trims dental schools’ graduation gowns and caps and may be found in dental banners, emblems, insignia, signs, symbols and publications.

Please note: The Emblem of Dentistry images are copyright free and can be used without permission.

Download the Emblem/Insignia of Dentistry

  • Black & White (300dpi) | JPG file/112k Link opens in separate window. Pop-up Blocker may need to be disabled.
  • Color (300dpi) | JPG file/103k Link opens in separate window. Pop-up Blocker may need to be disabled.

    To Download the JPGs:

    1. Select the link of image you want and image will open in window (it will appear small and look fuzzy).
    2. Right click on the image.
    3. Select the Save Picture As... option from the pull-down menu that appears.
    4. Choose the destination file where you want to save the image.
    5. Select Save and the image will begin to download to the chosen location.

Please note: these JPG images are high resolution and suitable for use in print ads and publications. These images can be resized and optimized for Web use as well.

Return to Top

Please note: The ADA does not provide specific answers to individual questions about fees, dental problems, conditions, diagnoses, treatments or proposed treatments, or requests for research. Information about dental referrals, complaints and a variety of dental procedures may be found here. You can also refer to our Frequently Asked Questions page for answers to common questions.

Quick Links
ADA: About the ADA
ADA: ADA History
History of Dentistry
Copyright 1995-2008 American Dental Association.
Reproduction or republication strictly prohibited without prior written permission.
See Privacy Policy (Updated 03/14/05) and Terms of Use for further legal information.
Link opens in separate window. Pop-up Blocker may need to be disabled. Link opens in separate window.
Pop-up Blocker may need to be disabled.
Member Only Content Member only content.