When telling a person they need a tuberosity reduction, don't tell them that the gum will have to be cut open and the bone will have to be ground down. Tell them that the bone has to be smoothed out and that this is a very common procedure. Sometimes the tuberosity reduction only involves the soft tissue.

Actually, the biggest problem is the cost. Each tuberosity costs $300 to reduce. So a two-tuberosity reduction will cost more than the dentures. If it's not covered by insurance, you have to make the patient aware of the cost.

©1999 by Julius Rosen, D.D.S.