The phone is ringing

Doctor: Hello! How can I help you?

Patient: Good morning. I would like to make an appointment. I lost my filling yesterday. The tooth does not hurt me, but I’m afraid that something bad may happen. I think that this tooth was treated with a root canal treatment last year.

Doctor: I can see you today, Sir, but only at the very end, after all the other patients. Please come around 7 p.m.

Patient: Thank you. I will come for sure.

In the surgery

Patient: Good evening, I have an appointment at 7 p.m.

Doctor: Hello, wait a minute, please. I will be with you momentarily.

After a few minutes

Doctor: Come in, please. As I recall, you have said that you lost filling from your tooth, haven’t you?

Patient: Yes, it was yesterday while eating dinner.

Doctor: Let me see. Yeah. This is the first molar. As you said, I see that the tooth was treated with a root canal. Not only filling has fallen out, but also adhesive cement is missing as I can see the root canal filling as well.

Patient: Will you treat this tooth?

Doctor: First, I’ll take x­‍‑rays of a tooth and I’ll assess how the root canals are filled, and I’ll check if nothing bad is happening at the end of the roots.

Patient: All right. Let’s do it. I put myself into your hands.

After dental x­‍‑rays

Doctor: It’s not bad, apical region does not raise my reservation, but the canals are not correctly filled in, so I have to remove the old filling, work on the root canals and fill them again.

Patient: Oh, it’s a lot of work.

Doctor: Yes, that’s right. That’s why I won’t finish treatment today. You’ll have to come to me again.

Patient: I see. Let’s get started. I’m going on vacation in two weeks and would like to make sure that everything is all right with the tooth.

Doctor: Yes, of course.

After 45 minutes

Doctor: Well, it went quite fast. I placed some disinfectant into the canal. I will fill the canals and place the filling in about 10 days. It will take roughly the same amount of time as today.

Patient: Great, so I’ll go on vacation in peace.

Doctor: Yes, you should be fine. So I’ll see you on Friday, I invite you at 7 p.m. as today. Oh, one more thing, the tooth may be slightly painful, especially when biting. It is typical in such a situation. If there was anything else what worries you, please call me.

Patient: Of course. I call certainly. Goodbye.

Doctor: See you later.

 
VOCABULARY PRACTICE

Complete the sentences with words from the table

1. Patient may be eating, or biting on something hard when he/she realizes that a filling has ___________ .
2. When a patient ____________ swallows a filling, it simply passes without a problem. On the contrary, if he/she breathes a filling into __________, it could cause an infection.
3. An unfilled tooth is a good _________ for food which can cause harmful bacteria to ___________, so patient must remember about gentle and careful brushing in the hole where the filling was to _____________ removal of all food debris.
4. Patients should be aware that all restorations reach their life _________ period, and they may start leak, chip and __________ they may fall out.
5. In most cases, patients do not experience any pain when filling has fallen out. However, we must remember that when the filling is gone, the ___________ is exposed. Nerves within the tooth may then be affected by cold, pressure, impacted food or other __________ causing in a toothache.

Translate the following pieces of advice

1. Skontaktuj się ze swoim dentystą, jeśli czujesz, że wypełnienie jest luźne lub wypadło. 
2. W przypadku, gdy wypadnie całe wypełnienie i są odsłonięte ujścia kanałów korzeniowych, może dojść do reinfekcji. Aby w przyszłości nie było z tym zębem problemów, należy przeprowadzić ponowne leczenie kanałowe i ponownie wypełnić ząb. 
3. Bardzo często po utracie wypełnienia ostre krawędzie zęba mogą kaleczyć język.
4. Gdy pacjent nagryzie pokarm uszkodzonym zębem, może dojść do złamania ściany zęba i jego dalszego zniszczenia. 
5. Pamiętaj, że czasami po utracie wypełnienia ząb może stać się wrażliwy na zimne lub ciepłe pokarmy.

Study the dialog between patient and doctor. Complete the table with synonyms you’ll find in the above conversation

Rearrange letters to create terms. Match terms with proper definitions

PPLU     TEDTNOISODN     MPTORYREA    MAD

1. ___________ – a thin sheet of rubber or vinyl.
2. ___________ – the soft tissue forming the inner structure of a tooth and containing nerves and blood vessels.
3. ___________ filling – type of filling used and lasting only for some time.
4. __________ – a dentist who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and injuries of the pulp and periapical tissues of the teeth.

Lesson 58 - answers