Healthy teeth are not only important because everybody likes a beautiful smile. Bad teeth can be the cause of all kinds of other health problems. You chew your food with your teeth and they also play an important role in speech. This is why you should not only take good care of your teeth at home, but also visit the dentist regularly.
Many people go to a dentist only if they have a toothache. They think that they don’t have to go to the dentist if they brush their teeth after every meal and before going to bed. Dentists advise you to use toothbrushes with soft bristles and toothpaste with fluoride. You should also use dental floss to remove any food stuck between the teeth. Flossing removes plaque, which causes cavities and also helps prevent gum disease. For fresher breath, there are a number of mouthwash liquids with which you can rinse your mouth.
 |
 |
 |
 |
| toothbrush | toothpaste | mouthwash | dental floss |
| spazzolino da denti | dentifricio | collutorio | filo dentale |
But only a dentist can give you a proper checkup and dental cleaning. A dentist can also detect early signs of problems inside your teeth and can take care of them before you start feeling pain or have to have your tooth pulled out. So you should visit a dentist at least twice a year. This way the dentist can exam your teeth and check for cavities, receding gums and remove tartar build-up.
When you are at the dentist’s a dental assistant will take you to a private patient room and he or she will take an X-ray of your teeth to show where the problems are. The dentist will examine the X-ray and then inspect your gums and teeth. If you have tooth decay, the dentist cleans the cavity, drills a hole in your tooth and puts filling in it. Don’t worry! You get an injection before the dentist starts drilling and he anesthetizes your gums, so the treatment is not painful.
After the treatment or check-up, the dental assistant removes tartar, polishes and flosses your teeth. Dentists nowadays also offer tooth whitening, but whitening treatments are usually not covered by dental insurance.
Dentists may also provide orthodontic treatments such as braces. You may need braces if you have crooked teeth, an overbite or an underbite, or if you want to make your smile more perfect and even. Traditional braces cannot be taken out of your mouth, but you can also have custom made removable appliances, which you only wear at night or when you are alone.
If you have tooth loss, you will need false teeth. They are called dentures. You can lose your teeth because of sports injuries, accidents and illnesses, but also because of drug use and gum diseases. One third of adult tooth loss is caused by gum diseases. Dentures are made by orthodontic technologists. They build porcelain fixed prosthesis including crowns, bridges and implants and also removable partial dentures. The dentist makes a dental impression of the patient’s teeth and jaw line and gives the measurements to the dental technologist. Then he can make the dental appliances based on the patient’s dental model.
 |
 |
 |
| braces | retainers | dentures |
| apparecchio dentale | apparecchio contenitivo | dentiera |
DENTIST’S TOOLS
mirror – specchio
probe (explorer) – sonda
tweezers (cotton pliers) – pinzette
spoon (spon excavator) – paletta da dentista
filing tool (filing instrument) – apparecchio per le otturazioni
mixing tool (cement spatula) – spatola
dentist – dentista
orthodontist – ortodontista
cause – causa di
to chew – masticare
to play an important role in – giocare un ruolo importante in
speech – discorso
toothache – mal di denti
bristles – setole
dental floss – filo interdentale
stuck – bloccato
to floss – passare il filo interdentale
plaque – placca
cavity – carie
to prevent – prevenire
gum disease – gengivite
mouthwash – collutorio
liquid – liquido
to rinse – risciaquare
checkup – controllo
dental cleaning – pulizia dei denti
to detect – rilevare
to pull out – estrarre
to exam – esaminare
to check for – controllare per
cavity – carie
receding gum – retrazione gengivale
to remove – rimuovere
tartar build-up – accumulo di tartaro
dental assistant – assistente dentista
to take an X-ray – fare i raggi-X
to inspect – ispezionare
decay – deteriorarsi
to drill – trapanare
filling – riempire
to anesthetize – anestetizzare
tartar – tartaro
to polish – pulire a fondo
tooth whitening – sbiancatura
dental insurance – assicurazione dentistica
orthodontic treatment – trattamento odontoiatrico
braces – apparecchio per denti
crooked – storto
overbite – retrusione mandibolare
underbite – retrusione mascellare
even – uniforme
custom made – su misura
removable appliance – apparecchi rimovibili
false teeth – denti finti
dentures – dentiere
sports injury – infortuni sportivi
gum disease – gengivite
orthodontic technologist – tecnici ortodontici
fixed prosthesis – protesi fisse
crown – capsula
bridge – ponte
implant – impianto
removable – removibile
partial – parziale
dental impression – calco, impronta dentale
TOOTH – TEETH
dentist – dentista
orthodontist – ortodontista
cause – causa di
to chew – masticare
to play an important role in – giocare un ruolo importante in
speech – discorso
toothache – mal di denti
bristles – setole
dental floss – filo interdentale
stuck –bloccato
to floss – passare il filo interdentale
plaque – placca
cavity – carie
to prevent – prevenire
gum disease – gengivite
mouthwash – collutorio
liquid – liquido
to rinse – risciaquare
checkup – controllo
dental cleaning – pulizia dei denti
to detect – rilevare
to pull out – estrarre
to exam – esaminare
to check for – controllare per
cavity – carie
receding gum – retrazione gengivale
to remove – rimuovere
tartar build-up – accumulo di tartaro
dental assistant – assistente dentista
to take an X-ray – fare i raggi-X
to inspect – ispezionare
decay – deteriorarsi
to drill – trapanare
filling – riempire
to anesthetize – anestetizzare
tartar – tartaro
to polish – pulire a fondo
tooth whitening – sbiancatura
dental insurance – assicurazione dentistica
orthodontic treatment – trattamento odontoiatrico
braces – apparecchio per denti
crooked – storto
overbite – retrusione mandibolare
underbite – retrusione mascellare
even – uniforme
custom made – su misura
removable appliance – apparecchi rimovibili
false teeth – denti finti
dentures – dentiere
sports injury – infortuni sportivi
gum disease – gengivite
orthodontic technologist – tecnici ortodontici
fixed prosthesis – protesi fisse
crown – capsula
bridge – ponte
implant – impianto
removable – removibile
partial – parziale
dental impression – calco, impronta dentale
