The phone is ringing

Patient: Good morning, Doctor.

Doctor: Good morning. How can I help you?

Patient: I am one of your patients, but I'm calling because of my daughter. She is 5 years old and when we were by the sea this summer, we had to go to the dentist because of her swollen face. We received help, and now, although there is no swelling, the tooth started hurting again. Would it be possible to schedule a visit with you for today?

Doctor: Of course, but only after 6 p.m.

Patient: Perfect. I'll be right after work so we can come to see you.

Doctor: OK. I'll put your visit into my schedule. See you later!

Patient: Bye-bye!


A few hours later

Patient: Good evening, Doctor. We were scheduled for a visit today.

Doctor: Hello, welcome and take a sit in the chair, please.

Patient: The problem with the tooth recurred. The situation was similar in summer when we were on vacation. But this time my daughter's face is not swollen.

Doctor: I see. The cause is the primary tooth. The last molar, to be precise. I see that it was wide opened.

Patient: Yes, it was. The doctor said that when the swelling goes away, it can be extracted. But because of lack of time, we did not do it. Toothache was gone, so we did not go to the dentist anymore.

Doctor: That's right. The tooth should have been removed. Open treatment is not currently used in primary teeth. I am not sure if you know, but such a tooth can cause serious illnesses even heart problems or sepsis. It can also be a cause of permanent teeth underdevelopment, and as right now it can always start hurting. Such teeth are sometimes treated, but in this case the extraction of a tooth is strongly recommended. In fact it does not have a crown.

Patient: And when can you extract the tooth?

Doctor: I can do it even now. However you will have to think about going to the orthodontist. Your daughter does not have two molars on the other side, so when the permanent teeth erupt, they can move and malocclusion can develop.

Patient: Ok, I see. And can you recommend someone?

Doctor: Of course. I'll give you the phone number to my colleague.

Patient: Great. Thank you very much. And because it's a milk tooth, will the tooth extraction be done without anesthesia ?

Doctor: No, it won't. Before extraction such as this, you have to do anesthesia. Tooth is set in the bone well and your daughter would be in pain.

Patient: I see, so please take care of her now.

Doctor: Please wait in the waiting room. I'll let you know, when I'm done.

Patient: Sure, thank you.

VOCABULARY PRACTICE

Match sentences' halves to form logical sentences

Early childhood caries is … (   )
Early childhood caries might occur if toddlers … (   )
Early childhood caries develop over time and ... (   )
If teeth are removed early, space may be lost in the dental arch and the second teeth ... (   )
Teeth left to decay can ...  (   )
If baby tooth is removed, the nearby teeth may drift ... (   )
A space maintainer is an appliance ... (   )
Because of the health problems that paediatric cavities can quickly cause … (   )
Many paediatric dentists recommend coming when ...  (   )
Tooth decay, particularly if left untreated ... (   )

A. can result in infection, chewing difficulty and even malnutrition.

B. severe tooth decay that affects the baby teeth of young children.

C. the first teeth appear or by the child’s first birthday, whichever occurs first.

D. age 2 is no longer considered too early to bring your child to the dentist.

E. constantly sip on sweet drinks, such as fruit juices.

F. may become crowded in a mouth.

G. can be difficult to see in the early stages.

H. into the space that has been created by the lost tooth.

I. that protects space in the jaw that is created when a tooth is lost prematurely.

J. lead to unnecessary health problems.

Here are some tips on how to stop children developing caries. Complete the text with a proper form of words in brackets

From the age of 3 a child can use a pea 1)____________ (SIZE) amount of adult toothpaste. Encourage a child to spit out excess paste, but not rinse his/her mouth with water.

Dentists call the hour before bed, “The 2)___________ (GOLD) hour”. Avoid letting a child have anything to eat or drink in this time aside from water. The reason for this is that whenever we have anything containing sugar to eat, it takes our mouths time to recover and to move from the process of 3)_____________ (DEMINERALISE) to 4)__________ (REMINERALISE). When we sleep, our mouths dry out and we 5)___________ (LOSS) the protective effect of saliva.

The key things with diet are to minimise the quantity and 6)_____________ (FREQUENT) of sugary foods. Remember, children aren’t born with a taste for fizzy drinks and sweets.

Did you know that adding fluoride to water can 7)_____________ (REDUCTION) dental decay by half and that it costs less to provide a lifetime of water fluoridation for one person than one small filling?

8)____________ (SUPERVISION) your child’s brushing until they are 8 years old as there is evidence to show that they do not have the manual dexterity to go it alone until this time.

Take your child for a check up every 6 months, or more frequently if your dentist 9)___________ (RECOMMENDATION). These visits will allow your child to get used to the dental environment and for your dentist to see problems when they are easily fixable. Your dentist can also provide treatments such as topical fluoride and fissure 10)___________ (SEAL) to reduce the risk of dental decay.

Once your child can spit out 11)_____________ (EFFECT), you can encourage them to use a fluoride mouthwash at a different time of day because fluoride works 12)___________ (GOOD) a little and often.

  Lesson 71 - answers