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
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Teeth | les dents |
| Tooth | la dent |
| Baby tooth | la dent de lait |
| Back tooth | la dent du fond |
| Molar | la molaire |
| Canine tooth | la canine |
| Front tooth | la dent de devant |
| Incisor | une incisive |
| Lower tooth | la dent du bas |
| Upper tooth | la dent du haut |
| Wisdom tooth | la dent de sagesse |
| Teeth enamel | l'émail blanc des dents |
| Mouth | la bouche |
| Gums | la gencive |
| Jaw | la mâchoire |
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Toothbrush | la brosse à dents |
| Toothpaste | le dentifrice |
| Dental floss | le fil dentaire |
| Mouthwash | un bain de bouche |
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Teeth cleaning | le détartrage |
| A toothache | un mal de dents |
| Abscess | un abcès |
| Broken/cracked tooth | une dent cassée/fêlée |
| Cavity | une carie |
| Crown | une couronne |
| Bridge | un bridge dentaire |
| Filling | un plombage / une obturation |
| Whitening | blanchiment des dents |
| Infected | infecté |
| Root canal | le traitement du canal radiculaire |
| Implant | un implant dentaire |
| False teeth | des fausses dents / le dentier |
| Amalgam filling | amalgame dentaire |
| Local anesthesia | une anesthésie locale |
| Injection | une piqûre |
| Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) | l'oxyde nitreux (gaz hilarant) |
| Novocaine | la novocaïne |
| Intravenous sedation | la sédation intraveineuse |
| English | French |
|---|---|
| To bleed | saigner |
| To rinse | rincer |
| To brush (teeth) | se brosser (les dents) |
| To hurt | se faire mal |
| To lose | perdre |
| To pull out, remove | arracher |
| To replace | remplacer |
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 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
