Dentil moulding, a small rectangular block that, when repeated, resembles a row of spaced teeth, is applied to houses as a type of decorative trim. From the Latin word ”dent,” meaning tooth, dentil moulding first appeared in 16th-century France.

Common in Corinthian architecture, this type of fanciful millwork is typically nailed along the fascia or beneath the cornice of a traditional home, or it may be installed as a type of crown moulding around the perimeter of a room’s ceiling.

In the past, dentil moulding was tediously made, piece by piece, from wood or plaster. Today, it is still made that way, but you can take a short cut to achieve the same look. You can buy lengths of single-piece polyurethane foam or vinyl moulding, which are more affordable and less prone to decay, shrinkage, peeling, and other problems common to built-up millwork.