What Did My Dentist Just Say?

At Family Dental Practice, education is paramount in our mission to help our friends and neighbors improve and maintain their oral health. For this reason, we try to avoid using dental jargon when we’re speaking with our valued patient family.

However, there are terms that can’t be broken down as easily; in those cases, we’ll explain things in as much detail as you need to feel comfortable and confident in your care. Usually what we’re describing isn’t as complex as it sounds!

That’s a Mouthful

As an example: alveoloplasty. That’s just the technical term for the surgical reshaping of your jawbone, often performed after extraction to prepare your mouth for a tooth or tooth replacement. Words (or abbreviations) you’ll hear more commonly include prophylaxis, scaling and root planing, TMJ, and bruxism. For a crash course on these words and more, check out this glossary.

If you have questions about the terms you see (or terms that didn’t make the list) and you’d like to talk about it over an appointment, please contact us today. Watertown dentists Dr. Buchholtz and Dr. Garro love talking all things oral health and sharing smiles with you!

The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.