dit heb ik meerdere keren gezien in dat verband

I would not know about a layman's term in English
but this is what a dentist would use, I guess

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-mandibular-ridge.htm

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Note added at 33 mins (2012-06-07 22:36:58 GMT)
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here are some pictures as well

http://www.google.nl/search?q="mandibular ridge"&hl=nl&lr=&a...

Good question, but I think 'kaakwal' refers here to the lower jaw because the text says 'onder de prothese' and not 'boven de prothese' but this can be just a matter of perspective of course

I am not sure whether 'kaakwal' is exclusively used for the lower jaw, otherwise you could use 'maxillary and mandibular ridges'

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Note added at 40 mins (2012-06-07 22:44:19 GMT)
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I also notice(d) that 'prothese' is used in the singular
it doesn't say the 'kaakwal onder de protheses'

they are talking about one prosthesis

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Note added at 5 hrs (2012-06-08 03:34:53 GMT)
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if 'jawbone' would 'do the job' - it doesn't - then it would exclusively refer to the 'lower jaw'

however 'kaakwal' refers here to the visible ridge that is supported by the alveolar processes of the mandible (or maxilla)
these alveolar processes concerns only the upper part of the mandible (or only the lower part of the maxilla)

what the dentist inspects in your text is what is shown in the pictures of the 'mandibular ridge' (or the maxillary ridge)

and this is what 'kaakwal' refers to

here are some pictures of the maxillary ridge:

http://www.google.nl/search?q="maxillary ridge"&hl=nl&lr=&as...

this is what a 'jawbone' is about:

The mandible [2] pronunciation (from Latin mandibula, "jawbone") or inferior maxillary bone forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The term "mandible" also refers to both the upper and lower sections of the beaks of birds; in this case the "lower mandible" corresponds to the mandible of humans, while the "upper mandible" is functionally equivalent to the human maxilla but mainly consists of the premaxillary bones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_mandible

most likely I did not need to tell you this

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Note added at 1 day16 hrs (2012-06-09 14:38:04 GMT) Post-grading
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there is ONLY ONE THING that I will admit:

'ridge of the jaw' sounds much better than 'jaw ridge' :-)

this at face value small alteration makes all the difference
because only now it becomes clear that the translator is trying to describe something and thus she can be pardoned for not using the obvious technical term(s)

'jaw ridge' is an awkward hybrid of a technical term and an apparent layman's term ( but really a misleading literal translation) that certainly could not be used in this context

it is mainly used in the context of the characteristics of the relevant bones as separate entities, the objects in themselves

kind regards