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Maintenance of Benefits: See Limited C.O.B..
Malocclusion: Poor positioning of your teeth. Class I malocclusion A Malocclusion where your bite is ok (your top teeth line up with your bottom teeth) but your teeth are crooked, crowded or turned. Class II malocclusion A Malocclusion where your upper teeth stick out.
Mamelons: The small enamel bumps on the incisal edges of teeth that have not been worn smooth through attrition.
Managed Care: Dental Plans that restrict the type, level and frequency of treatment; limit the access to care; and control the level of reimbursement for services. Examples of managed care plans are D.M.O. plans, capitation plans and closed panel plans.
Mandible: Pertaining to your lower jaw.
Margin: The junction between a tooth and crown or filling material.
Maryland Bridge: An acid-etched, thin metal-reinforced bridge requiring slight or reduction of the anchor teeth.
Masticate: To chew your food and mix the food with salvia.
Mathieu Plier: A special kind of pliers, which locks when it closes so it holds on to small parts.
Matrix Band: A thin metal band that wraps around a tooth to hold filling material in place until it hardens.
Maxilla: The upper jaw.
Maxillary: Pertaining to your upper jaw.
Maximum: The maximum dollar amount of benefits a plan will pay toward the cost of dental care over a specific period of time (usually one year).
Medium Lip Line: When the widest smile reveals the interdental gum tissue but not the gum tissue above the upper front teeth.
Mesial: Forward of front. For example your cuspid is mesial to you bicuspid. The mesial surface of your bicuspid is the part of the bicuspid closest to you cuspid.
Midline: A plane through the very center of your mouth perpendicular to your nose.
Mixed Dentition: The situation when both deciduous and permanent teeth are present.
Molars: The first, second and third molars, those are the sixth, seventh and eight teeth from the center of the mouth to the back of the mouth. The back teeth with the large chewing surface on top. They have 4 points (cups).
Mouthpart: device that is used to protect your mouth from injury when you are participating in sports. The used of a mouth guard is especially important for orthodontic patients, to prevent injuries.
Mucocele: A pathologic lesion resembling a small fluid filled soft tissue cyst resulting from the trapping of minor salivary gland secretions below a mucosal surface. Often found on the inner lips as the result of trauma.
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