Ace the 2026 ASPEN Dental Assisting Exam – Brighten Your Career Smile Today!

Biopsy is the process of removing tissue for evaluation. In dentistry, a biopsy means taking a small sample of tissue from a suspicious area in the mouth (such as soft tissue or bone) so a pathologist can examine it under a microscope and determine things like inflammation, infection, precancerous changes, or cancer. This can be done by taking a portion of tissue (incisional biopsy) or removing the entire lesion (excisional biopsy), with the sample sent to a lab for histopathology.

Bridge refers to a fixed dental prosthesis that replaces missing teeth and is anchored to adjacent teeth. Buccal relates to the cheek or the outer surface of the teeth. Calculus is hardened dental plaque (tartar) that can form on teeth. None of those involve removing tissue for laboratory evaluation like a biopsy does.