Task 1 - Listening

Friendly dental care

You are going to listen to a conversation between a dentist and his patient.

Read the questions.

  1. What is the man's initial reason for visiting the dentist?
  2. What problem does the dentist discover when he takes a look in the patient's mouth?
  3. When does the man feel discomfort?
  4. What is one method of treatment the dentist does NOT mention?
  5. What does the dentist use to minimize the patient's pain during the procedure?

Listen to the recording.

 

Answer the questions.

 

Listen to the recording again. You can read the audioscript while listening.

Patient: Hi. Dr. Hyde?
Dentist: So, what's seems to be the problem today?
Patient: Well, I just came in for a check up and a dental cleaning.
Dentist: Hum. Open up. Let's take a look ...
Patient: Okay. Uh ...
Dentist: Hummmm. [Humm? Uh?] Wow! I've never seen one like THIS before. Let me try this.
Patient: Uhhh ... Ouhhhh [Man screaming in pain ...]
Dentist: Well, besides a lot of plaque buildup, there is a major cavity in one of your wisdom teeth. [I feel that.] Hasn't this given you any trouble?
Patient: Well, the tooth has been bothering me, and it sometimes hurts when I drink something cold. Does it look that bad?
Dentist: Well, we're going to remove the decay, and then we'll either put a filling in, or if the decay is extensive, we can't repair it, we might have to put a crown on your tooth. Or as a last resort, we may have to extract the tooth.
Patient: Uh, well, that sounds painful!
Dentist: Don't worry. I've done this . . . once before. [Huh?] Nah, just relax.
Patient: Wait! Aren't you suppose to give me something to dull the pain?
Dentist: Uh, chicken. Oh yeah. I almost forgot. We can either use a local anesthetic or nitrous oxide . . . laughing gas. . . to minimize the discomfort you might feel. Or you can just grin and bear it.
Patient: Nah, Nah, nah! Put me under! [I thought so.] I can't stand pain, and I'd rather not be aware of what's going on. And, if I need a filling, can I get one that looks like my other teeth?
Dentist: If we can save the tooth with a filling, I recommend a high-strength silver alloy filling instead of a porcelain one. It'll probably last longer.
Patient: Okay, well whatever. Let's get it over with.
Dentist: Okay, pleasant dreams. Drill please.