dentist

«dentist» in Mova's school dictionary: a doctor who looks after people's teeth and gums: checks… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a dentist, dentists; the dentist's — the dentist's surgery or office)

meaning for a pupil

1) A dentist is a doctor who looks after people's teeth and gums: checks them, cleans them and fixes problems. tree →

2) «The dentist» or «the dentist's» also means the place where the dentist works. tree →

sense in the lessons

In health lessons visiting the dentist for check-ups (about every six months or as the dentist says) keeps teeth healthy; the dentist looks for holes (cavities), cleans plaque, and may fill or take out teeth. With brushing twice a day and less sugar, you visit the dentist less for problems. In stories a trip to the dentist can be a scary scene that turns out fine. Phrases: go to the dentist, dentist's appointment, check-up, filling, dental nurse.

examples

• I go to the dentist twice a year for a check-up. tree →
• The dentist said my teeth were healthy. tree →
• She has a dentist's appointment after school. tree →
• The dentist filled a small hole in my tooth. tree →
• Don't be scared of the dentist; it doesn't usually hurt. tree →
• Brush your teeth so the dentist won't find any cavities. tree →
• The dentist used a little mirror to look at my back teeth. tree →
• My brother had a wobbly tooth taken out at the dentist's. tree →

note

Countable: dentists. The adjective about teeth is «dental» (dental floss, dental nurse). A dentist for straightening teeth with braces is an orthodontist. «At the dentist's» (UK) = at the dentist's surgery; in the USA people say «at the dentist».

In the corpora

• Dentists check teeth every six months to a year to catch small problems, like holes, before they hurt.
• A tooth that hurts with cold or sweet things may have a hole that a dentist needs to fix.
• Asking the dentist to explain what they will do and agreeing a hand signal to pause makes a visit much less scary.
• Jake chipped his front tooth over a football card that was not even rare, and the dentist cost his parents money.
• Adult teeth do not grow back; a chipped tooth needs a dentist to repair it.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «dentist» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.