Toothache

Hello everyone and welcome to EnglishPod.

My name is Marco.

My name is Catherine and today we have a very painful lesson for you.

That's right.

Today we're going to go to one of the worst places for me.

We're going to go to the dentist.

Okay, so the person in this dialogue has a pain in their mouth, in the tooth area.

So let's take a listen to this dialogue and when we come back, we'll be talking a little

bit more about it.

What seems to be the problem?

I have a really bad toothache.

My cheek is swollen and I can't eat anything.

Let's have a look.

This doesn't look too good.

I think we may have to pull out your wisdom tooth.

It's pressing against your molars and that's one of the reasons you're experiencing so

much pain.

When you pull my tooth, will you also have to extract the nerve and the root?

First we will take some x-rays and see what we're dealing with.

I also noticed a small cavity up front here, so you are going to need a filling.

I guess that's what I get for not flossing or brushing my teeth three times a day.

It could be that or maybe you are eating too many sweets.

In any case, I'll administer an anesthetic and you won't feel a thing.

Alright we're back and obviously we're going to take a look at a lot of vocab related to

going to the dentist and experiencing a little bit of pain.

So let's take a look at that in Language Takeaway.

First up in Language Takeaway today we have the root of the problem.

It's a toothache.

That's right, we have a really bad toothache.

Okay well ache means pain or soreness and tooth is your tooth.

So I could say, oh gosh I have a really bad toothache.

That's right, that means your tooth or your teeth hurt.

And basically you can combine it like a stomachache or headache.

Backache.

Backache.

That's right.

So usually when you have a toothache, you experience different symptoms, different things

happen to you.

What's one of these things Marco?

Well in this case the girl had a swollen cheek.

Her cheek is swollen.

So the cheek is the side of the face.

It's usually where it's a little bit pink and when your cheek is swollen, it looks puffy.

It looks bigger than normal.

That's right.

So for example sometimes you fall and you hurt your finger and it'll get fat and it'll

get puffy as you say.

It's swollen.

That's right.

So anything can be swollen really.

When you hit your toe on something hard and your toe later gets bigger, it's swollen.

That's right.

So obviously her cheek is swollen and she has a toothache because apparently her wisdom

teeth or her wisdom tooth is coming out.

All right.

So wisdom teeth are special teeth.

I don't know if they actually have anything to do with wisdom which means being smart.

To be wise.

Wise.

But wisdom teeth are those four teeth in the very, very, very back of your mouth.

That's right.

So these are the last teeth that come in or the last teeth that grow in your mouth.

So I think usually you're 18 or 20 when they come in.

That's right.

A lot of people experience these when they're older.

Maybe that's why they call them wisdom teeth because you're older and you're wiser.

I had them when I was about 14, 13.

I was very young.

But these come in the very back.

They're the furthest away from your lips.

Okay.

Very good.

So when they come in, sometimes there's not enough space and so they start to press against

the other teeth in your mouth, specifically against your molars.

So molars are other teeth.

These are also in the back of your mouth.

You can tell which ones are molars I believe because they're flat on top.

They look like a little square.

Those are the ones that you use to chew your food with mostly.

Exactly.

They're not pointy like your front teeth.

And so molars are in the back of your mouth.

Wisdom teeth are in the very back of your mouth.

And molars can be very sore when the wisdom teeth push against them.

And so in this case, you will have to take your teeth out or the dentist will take your

teeth out.

But what's something we say when we talk about taking the whole tooth out?

Well, in this case, he's going to extract the tooth, but also he's going to extract

the nerve and the root.

Okay.

So nerves are parts of our bodies.

We can't see them, but they help us feel things.

So maybe when someone hits me, the nerves in my arm, they tell my brain that it hurts.

Well, we also have nerves in our teeth and that's what we're talking about here.

But what's this other thing?

You talked about the nerve and the root.

It's very similar to a plant, for example.

You consider that your teeth are like plants and they have little roots that go into your

gums.

And this is how basically you get teeth stay alive.

They are fed basically by your body.

All right.

So root, like with a tree or a plant, is the very bottom of something.

And in this case, to extract means to take out or to take away.

So the dentist will have to extract the root and the nerve.

So that sounds pretty painful.

It's painful, but they have to do it, right?

So when the dentist has to extract the tooth, in this case, the nerve and the root and everything,

in order for you not to feel it, he gives you special drugs.

What are these drugs called?

These are called anesthetics.

Okay.

So most people, when they are having major surgery, they get anesthetics so that they

can't feel anything.

Remember, we were just talking about nerves.

Well, anesthetics make it so that you can't feel things through your nerves.

That's right.

So obviously you don't want to feel the pain when somebody's pulling that tooth out of

your mouth.

So you get an anesthetic and then you don't really feel anything.

You kind of feel something, but you don't really feel pain.

Exactly.

So anesthetic basically makes you numb.

Numb.

That's right.

That's the word, numb.

Okay.

So we've taken a look at a lot of vocab, molars, wisdom teeth, etc.

Why don't we listen to the dialogue again and we'll be back in a bit with Fluency Builder.

What seems to be the problem?

I have a really bad toothache.

My cheek is swollen and I can't eat anything.

Let's have a look.

Hmm, this doesn't look too good.

I think we may have to pull out your wisdom tooth.

It's pressing against your molars and that's one of the reasons you're experiencing so

much pain.

When you pull my tooth, will you also have to extract the nerve and the root?

First we will take some x-rays and see what we're dealing with.

I also noticed a small cavity up front here.

So you are going to need a filling.

I guess that's what I get for not flossing or brushing my teeth three times a day.

It could be that.

Or maybe you are eating too many sweets.

In any case, I'll administer an anesthetic and you won't feel a thing.

Alright, so the topic of today's lesson is toothache but it's also basically about learning

that you will have to have your tooth taken out.

So to say this we say, to pull out a tooth.

Okay, so that's what the dentist said.

I think we may have to pull out your wisdom tooth.

Not good news.

Okay, so to pull out means to extract.

So just remember here this is a phrase that has pull out.

Out would be the preposition here.

We wouldn't say pull off or pull at.

We'd say pull out.

Like for example, you can pull out a hair or your hair.

Exactly.

Okay, so we're pulling out the wisdom tooth and the dentist first wants to take some x-rays

to see what we're dealing with.

Okay, so to deal with something means to work on it or to have something to do with.

And so in this case the dentist wants to know, is this serious?

What are we dealing with here?

That's right.

So he's trying to judge the situation.

So maybe what would be another scenario or another situation where you would say, I have

to see what we're dealing with.

Well, in the case of the weather and the newsmen who report about the weather, maybe they see

that a storm is coming but they have to look at the radars and the computer screens to

see what they're dealing with.

Is it a serious storm or is it a very weak storm?

They have to evaluate.

That's right.

Okay, very good.

And so we're going to see what we're dealing with.

And then the girl I think knows that she hasn't really taken good care of her teeth.

And so she says, I guess that's what I get for not flossing or brushing my teeth.

So that's what you get or that's what I get.

Where the pronoun changes, I, you, he, that's what I get for not taking care of myself.

This means it's my fault.

I deserved it.

I deserve this thing.

So I could say, Marco, that's what you get for not doing your homework.

You got a bad grade on your test.

That's right.

So it's basically a way of saying, that's what you deserve.

That's the consequence for your actions.

Exactly.

Okay.

And what about our last phrase?

This is something that I hate to hear from doctors and dentists because usually it's

a lie.

A dentist will say before he gives you a shot or before he takes your tooth out, you won't

feel a thing.

That's right.

So he's basically saying you're not going to feel any pain.

But why do we say you won't feel a thing instead of you won't feel anything?

Just a set phrase.

It's something we say, I would remember it like this because it's more likely to be said

in this way.

You won't feel a thing.

I think it basically means not even one little thing, you're not going to feel that.

So for example, I'm about to fix someone's back, you know, when you have to pull them

and make their back feel better.

I say, you won't feel a thing.

You fix their back.

Okay.

So you won't feel a thing or you won't feel anything.

Both are correct, but I think it's more common to hear you won't feel a thing.

Okay.

So why don't we go back?

Let's take one last look at our dialogue and we'll be back in a bit.

What seems to be the problem?

I have a really bad toothache.

My cheek is swollen and I can't eat anything.

Let's have a look.

Hmm.

This doesn't look too good.

I think we may have to pull out your wisdom tooth.

It's pressing against your molars and that's one of the reasons you're experiencing so

much pain.

When you pull my tooth, will you also have to extract the nerve and the root?

First we will take some x-rays and see what we're dealing with.

I also noticed a small cavity up front here, so you are going to need a filling.

I guess that's what I get for not flossing or brushing my teeth three times a day.

It could be that.

Or maybe you are eating too many sweets.

In any case, I'll administer an anesthetic and you won't feel a thing.

All right so talking about dentists and talking about wisdom teeth, you say that you still

have all four wisdom teeth.

I do.

They're all still back there.

So you didn't need to have them taken out or pulled?

No, as my dentist likes to say, I have a big mouth.

Which in English has two meanings.

A big mouth is not just a large mouth, but also it means you like to talk a lot.

Right.

So, but did you ever have braces for example when you were a kid?

Oh yes.

Oh you had braces.

I had a retainer, which is a device that you, it looks like a line across your teeth and

you put it in usually at night, but sometimes during the day and it makes some space in

your mouth.

But I also had braces after that.

I hated braces.

I had them for two years.

Why did you hate braces?

Because they're uncomfortable.

Well, they don't look very good, especially when you're a 13 year old girl and you want

to look cute and you have this big metal thing in your mouth.

That's right.

Did you have braces?

No, no, I never had braces.

Actually it was kind of for a while, I think a lot of people thought it was cool to have

braces.

I did not grow up where you grew up.

It was not cool where I grew up.

I don't know.

I think, or it gets to a point where in certain parts, I guess my school was filled with kids

that had braces.

So I guess everyone just had really bad teeth.

So obviously the people that didn't have braces kind of were left aside.

So you're like, oh, I want braces.

I want to be part of the group.

I know sometimes I wish I had glasses, because everyone I know has glasses.

Really?

Yeah.

If you have good vision though.

Yeah, it sucks to be perfect, right?

Well, this is a really interesting topic and going to the dentist is always complicated.

Maybe some of our listeners are dentists themselves or they have some stories that they can share

with us.

Please let us know what you're thinking and share your dentist stories with us on EnglishPod.com.

We'll be waiting for you there.

All right.

We'll see you guys then.

Bye.

Bye.