A visit to the dentist’s office (chez le dentiste) is rarely a bundle of laughs, but if you have dental issues in France, the trip will be a little easier if you know some basic terms in French!

For the next time you need a check-up or some other dental treatment, here is a useful list of words and phrases.

Dental vocabulary in French

EnglishFrench
Teethles dents
Toothla dent
Baby toothla dent de lait
Back toothla dent du fond
Molarla molaire
Canine toothla canine
Front toothla dent de devant
Incisorune incisive
Lower toothla dent du bas
Upper toothla dent du haut
Wisdom toothla dent de sagesse
Teeth enamell'émail blanc des dents
Mouthla bouche
Gumsla gencive
Jawla mâchoire
EnglishFrench
Toothbrushla brosse à dents
Toothpastele dentifrice
Dental flossle fil dentaire
Mouthwashun bain de bouche
EnglishFrench
Teeth cleaningle détartrage
A toothacheun mal de dents
Abscessun abcès
Broken/cracked toothune dent cassée/fêlée
Cavityune carie
Crownune couronne
Bridgeun bridge dentaire
Fillingun plombage / une obturation
Whiteningblanchiment des dents
Infectedinfecté
Root canalle traitement du canal radiculaire
Implantun implant dentaire
False teethdes fausses dents / le dentier
Amalgam fillingamalgame dentaire
Local anesthesiaune anesthésie locale
Injectionune piqûre
Nitrous oxide (laughing gas)l'oxyde nitreux (gaz hilarant)
Novocainela novocaïne
Intravenous sedationla sédation intraveineuse
EnglishFrench
To bleedsaigner
To rinserincer
To brush (teeth)se brosser (les dents)
To hurtse faire mal
To loseperdre
To pull out, removearracher
To replaceremplacer

Health Insurance

In France, there is an officially agreed dentist fee for a visit to a conventionné dentist (affiliated with Assurance Maladie). Most dental treatments also have official Assurance Maladie rates where you will be reimbursed 70% of the costs.

However, it is worth noting that dental treatment and surgery can be expensive in France, so if you know you’ll need extensive work, it is worth paying a higher insurance premium for a good dental option on a private, supplemental health insurance policy – mutuelle – that reimburses more of the ‘ticket modérateur’.

For more details you will find all the essential information about the French Healthcare system and insurance plans in our ebook Private Health Insurance in France.

And to keep you smiling, if you would like a quote for private health insurance, our partners offer Renestance clients extremely competitive rates – please contact us for more details!

Dennelle Taylor Nizoux

Dennelle is the President of Renestance and a bilingual American who’s lived in France since 2000. She loves so many things about France, its language, culture, geography, quality of life... that she started a business to help others realize their dreams of living in this incredible place.

All articles by: Dennelle Taylor Nizoux

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