Hello Fearless Learners, today we are at the dentist. I'm going to separate this lesson into three parts. The first part is making the appointment. Then, when you arrive at the dentist and what do you say when you're talking to the dentist. Now, if you're anything like me, the thought of going to the dentist is quite annoying, it's daunting and it's scary. I don't like it. Now, what would make it worse is if you didn't know how to communicate and talk to the dentist. Imagine that. So today we're going to learn how to communicate beautifully at the dentist. Let's get started.
Making an Appointment
The first part is making an appointment. The first sentence is very simple: when you're calling, you can say "Can I make an appointment to see the dentist?" There are lots of different reasons you might want to see the dentist, but I'm just going to go through three. I want to keep it simple, so you can say "Can I make an appointment to see the dentist?"
If you want to see the dentist, then you can say that. But there's a second option, which is a dental hygienist. Their job is to clean the teeth and to make sure they help you prevent any gum disease or problems with your teeth in the future. So you could say "Can I make an appointment to see the dental hygienist?" I usually like to go to the dental hygienist every six months. I learned this when I was in the US; it's very common there. But in the UK, I don't think many people know about the dental hygienist, or at least I didn't until I went to the US. In the US, everyone goes to the dental hygienist every six months.
The last option is "Can I make an appointment to get a checkup?" You could say "Can I get an appointment to get a checkup" or "I'd like a checkup, please." A checkup is when there's nothing wrong with you, but you just want to make sure that everything is okay, so you go in for a checkup.
Arriving at the dentist
The next part is when you're at the dentist. When you first arrive, they will say something like "Hi, how can I help you? What's your name?" And you could say "I have an appointment." If you have an appointment, the person will say "Please take a seat." When they're ready for you to come in, they will say "Would you like to come through?" or they'll call out your name and say "Mr. Smith, would you like to come through?" That means just come into the room; it's not really a question, it's more of a request.
Talking to the dentist
The final part is talking to the dentist. Some of the things the dentist might say to you are "When did you last visit the dentist?" You could say "I visited the dentist six months ago" or "I haven't been for a very long time" if you haven't gone. The dentist might also ask "Have you had any problems?" This means are there any specific things that you're worried about. You could say "I've got a toothache" or "One of my fillings has come out." A filling is something that goes into your teeth from a previous dentist visit where they fixed a problem like tooth decay. Sometimes when you eat something hard, the filling falls out, so you could say "One of my fillings has come out." Look at the phrasal verb "come out," which is the same as falling off. "I've chipped a tooth". So again, you could have eaten something really hard that's broken off a tiny bit of your tooth. It's not the whole tooth, it's just a tiny bit. We say "chipped." I've chipped off a tooth. So, you might have fallen and a little bit of your tooth breaks. Again, you can say to the dentist "I'd like a checkup." This means there's nothing wrong, everything is okay, and you're just here for a checkup.
Well, there you go, Fearless Learner. We've finished the lesson, but now it's up to you to go and practice these sentences with a speaking partner. I'll see you in the next lesson. Bye!