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Dentistry vocabulary · Patient Communication and Instructions

Rinse

Meaning in dentistry, with examples

/rɪns/verbCore term

In dentistry, rinse means: To move water or another liquid around the mouth and then spit it out. As a noun, it can mean a mouthwash or the act of rinsing.

In Turkish: ağzı çalkalamak, çalkalamak

How it is used

A common chairside instruction ('Have a rinse', 'Rinse and spit') and a key word in advice after extractions, where patients are usually told not to rinse hard on the first day. Mouthwash is also called a mouth rinse.

Example sentences

  1. You can have a rinse now; there's water in the cup.

  2. Please don't rinse vigorously today, or the blood clot could come away.

Common collocations

  • rinse and spit
  • have a rinse
  • salt water rinse
  • mouth rinse
  • post-operative instructionsThe information a patient is given after an extraction or surgery about bleeding, pain, eating, cleaning and warning signs, often on a printed sheet.
  • dry socketA painful complication after an extraction in which the blood clot in the socket breaks down or is lost, leaving bone exposed. The pain usually starts two to four days later.
  • extractionThe removal of a tooth from its socket in the bone. A simple one uses forceps and elevators; a surgical one may need a cut in the gum or removal of some bone.
  • numbUnable to feel anything in part of the body for a while, as the lip, tongue and cheek are after a local anesthetic. It is also a verb: to numb an area.

More terms: Patient Communication and Instructions

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.