Where : Dentist office

Last Friday, I went to a dentist office near my office. In U.S., the usual steps for you to see a doctor is as follows.

1. Call a doctor’s office or a hospital to make a reservation. (It is important to check your insurance to see whether the office or hospital is in network for the insurance.)

2. Go to the hospital/office on the day you made a reservation. (Even you go to the hospital on time, chances are you would need to wait for a while. Usually around 30 minutes or an hour. Also, you might need to fill bunch of documents up there. This would also take some time.)

3. Talk to a doctor/nurse and, if necessary, you need to take some exams.

4. Once everything is done, you usually just got out of the hospital/office without paying any money.

5. Around a month later, you will get bunch of mails about all those costs. (Here, you would be so surprised how much it would be without your insurance. Honestly, if you have any health issue when you do not have an insurance, you are in big trouble. You could be broke. It is beyond your imagination. So, when you come to U.S., always get any insurance just in case that you end up going to a hospital.)

So, about four years ago, I went to a dentist office in Korea to take care of my teeth as a preparation for moving to U.S. One of the things I had to do was putting a gold onlay in one of my back teeth. Unfortunately, a few days ago, it fell out and I lost it. I think I swallowed it and, by now, it would be flushed out to septic tank of my apt. 🙂

Well, that is why I went to the dentist office last Friday. And, as I sit down, a nurse asked me, “So which tooth do you have a problem?” I said, “The one deep inside!” Then, she said, “Oh, molar!” Well, at that moment, I realized that I did not know that word. Also, there are a few words you would like to know in relation to dentist office visit.

Inlays and Onlays

1. inlays : Dental inlays are used to treat teeth that have decay or damage lying within their indented top surfaces. They can also be used to replace old or damaged metal fillings.

2. onlays : Whereas dental inlays are designed to treat decay within the cusps, or top projections, of a tooth, onlays are used to treat decay that extends to one or more of the cusps. Onlays are placed in much the same way as inlays.

3. cavity (tooth decay) :  a disease wherein bacterial processes damage hard tooth structure. Korean equivalent : 충치(Chung-Chee)

This time, instead of putting gold onlay, the doctor told me that he is going to put a crown. In dentistry, crown is a type of dental restoration which completely caps or encircles a tooth or dental implant and is typically bonded to the tooth using a dental cement.

All of these words or expressions are hard to think about until you really get to the point that you need to visit a hospital or a doctor’s office. I remember when Jessy needs to see a doctor because of her issue with her uterus, she had to go through her dictionary to find out the names of women’s organs.

I need to go to the dentist office again this Thursday to treat it, which I really am reluctant to. Who likes going to dentist office? Are there any other words or expressions which are useful to know with regard to dentist office visit?