For the exchange between science and practice, a language that is as precise as possible is also required in dentisty. This language is necessarily based on our ideas about the relationships in reality. Since standardization is unavoidable, various methods have been developed in informatics as to how these models can be represented and made more precise. On this basis, it is possible to neutrally discuss the situations in which a given form of treatment is expedient or not. A step-by-step approach to standardization of dental language with the aid of meta models is shown by reference to examples. The medrapid.info service is presented as an approach to making medical and dental language more precise. Keywords: dentistry, decisionmaking, controlled vocabulary