UNIT 1: TEETH

Grado Superior en Higiene Bucodental

TABLE OF CONTENTS
READING Dental health
VOCABULARY At the dentist´s
Oral cavity

GRAMMAR Pronouns and possessive adjectives

Comparatives and superlatives
Question words
WRITING AND SPEAKING The tooth
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Unit 1 Inglés Técnico Higiene Bucodental

 1. READING
1.1. Read this article and pay attention to the specific vocabulary.

DENTAL HEALTH

People have been troubled by tooth and gum problems for thousands of years. The
earliest record of dental treatment comes from ancient Egypt. Books say the Egyptians treated
gum swelling by using a substance made of spices and onions. The earliest known person to
treat tooth problems was also from Egypt. He lived about five-thousand years ago. He was
known as a "doctor of the tooth."

Experts say Chinese people living almost five-thousand years ago treated tooth pain
by acupuncture -- placing small sharp needles in different parts of the body. About one-
thousand-three-hundred years ago, the Chinese filled holes in the teeth with a mixture of the
metals mercury, silver and tin. That was almost one-thousand years before a similar substance
was first used in western countries. Some ancient people like the Maya did not treat dental
disease. But they made their teeth pretty by placing pieces of stone and metal on them.

The ancient Romans were careful about keeping their teeth clean. More than two-
thousand years ago, the Romans treated toothaches, filled holes in teeth, and made false
teeth to replace those that had been lost.

From the fifth to the fifteenth centuries, Europeans with tooth problems went to
people called barber-surgeons. These people performed many services, including cutting hair,
pulling teeth and treating medical conditions. Dental treatment improved during the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries as doctors increased their knowledge about teeth.

Modern dentistry began in the seventeen-hundreds in France. That was when Pierre
Fauchard published his book called "The Surgeon Dentist." It was the first book about dental
science. The book provided information about dental problems for other dentists to use. And
it described ways to keep teeth healthy. Pierre Fauchard is considered the father of modern
dentistry. His work was important in helping establish dentistry as a separate profession.
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Unit 1 Inglés Técnico Higiene Bucodental

1.2 Translate the following words into Spanish.
a. Tooth: …………
b. Gum: …………..
c. Swelling: ……………
d. Pain: ……………..
e. Holes: ……………….
f. Toothaches: ………………..
g. False teeth: …………………..
h. Dentistry: ………………….

1.3 Choose the correct words from the text to the definitions below:

a) Inflammation: ………….....
b) A method of treating pain and illness using special thin needles: ……………….
c) A pain in your teeth or tooth: …………….
d) Medical practitioners in medieval Europe who performed surgery:
…………………
e) The medical study of the teeth and mouth: ……………………
f) Doctor who performs operations on people: …………………..

1.4 True or false?

a) The very first civilization treating tooth pain was China.

b) Chinese already did fillings.
c) Romans didn’t take care of their teeth.
d) Barber surgeons were only hairdressers.
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Unit 1 Inglés Técnico Higiene Bucodental

2. VOCABULARY
AT THE DENTIST´S

DENTIST DENTAL DENTAL HIGIENIST ORTHODONTIST

TECHNICIAN
TOOTH DENTISTRY FILLING MOLAR
TEETH TOOTHACHE IMPLANT JAW

2.1. Complete the following sentences with the words above.

a. I have a terrible ……………………. I have to visit my doctor as soon as
possible.
b. The ………………………. Is the specialized person who straightens teeth.
c. …………………….……. Is the science which studies teeth formation, problems
and treatments.
d. ……………….……… is the plural of tooth.
e. Large, flat tooth at the end of the mouth: …………………….
f. The ………………. Is the replacement of a lost or natural missing tooth.
g. Member of the dental team who makes bridges, crowns or implants:
……………….

2.2. Choose the right answer.

A. It is NOT a profession D. If you have a hole in one of your
a) Dentistry teeth you need a …………….
b) Dentist a) Swelling
c) Dental hygienist b) Implant
d) Orthodontist c) Jaw
d) Filling

B. How do you translate “dentistry” E. Lower part of your mouth that

into Spanish? moves when you open your
a) Dentista mouth.
b) Odontólogo a) Molar
c) Odontología b) Teeth
d) Protésico dental c) Tooth
d) Jaw

C. How do you say “ Lávate los F. What is the translation of “Jaw”?

dientes” in English? a) Mandibula
a) Brush your tooth b) Molar
b) Clean your teeth c) Lengua
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c) Brush your teeth d) Diente

d) Clean your mouth

Unit 1 Inglés Técnico Higiene Bucodental

 ORAL CAVITY

2.3. Translate these sentences into Spanish:

a. I use my lips to kiss: ……………………………………….………………………………..

b. The tongue is one of the most active muscle in our body:

……………………………………………………………………………….…………………..

c. Our teeth are used to chew: ……………………………………………………………….

d. The parotid gland is the principal salivary gland in many animals:

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

e. We need our nasal cavity to breath:

…………………………………………………………………………………………

f. The uvula is the fleshy lobe which hangs above the throat:

………………………………………………………………………………………………..

g. The Esophagus is the muscular passage that connects the mouth with the

stomach: ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
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Unit 1 Inglés Técnico Higiene Bucodental

 3. GRAMMAR

PRONOUNS AND POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE

Subject Object Possessive Possessive Reflexive

pronoun pronoun adjective pronoun pronoun

I Me My Mine Myself
You You Your Yours Yourself
He Him His His Himself
She Her Her hers Herself
We Us Our Ours Ourselves
You You Your Yours Yourselves
They Them Their Theirs Themselves
It It Its (not used) Itself

3.1. Fill in the gaps with an appropriate pronoun or possessive adjective.

a) Does ……….. (she/her/hers) know that ………..(I/me/he) don’t like Cheese?

b) I remember that …………..(they/them) heard the news from …….. (we/us/our)
c) She introduces ………..(she/her/herself) to the boss of the company.
d) Please don´t tell …………. (she/her) about …………. (I/my/me) secret.
e) I invite ………….. (yours/ your/ you) to ………. (her/ my/ I) birthday party.
f) He lives alone, and he always has to cook for ………….. (he/ him/ himself).
g) When the dog chased John, ………. (he/his/him) ran as fast as ……….. (he, him, his) could.
h) He rewarded ………… (his/himself/him) with an ice-cream.
i) We met ……… (you/ yours/ your) mother and ……….( she/her/hers) is gorgeous.
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Unit 1 Inglés Técnico Higiene Bucodental

 COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE

El comparativo se usa para comparar una cosa con otra.

Para usar el comparativo tenemos que modificar el adjetivo según la longitud de este, si el
adjetivo consta de una sola sílaba (en pronunciación) solo añadiremos –ER, en cambio, si la
longitud es superior a una sílaba tendremos que emplear MORE delante del adjetivo. E.J:

Long  (1 sílaba) longer: the blue house is longer than the red house ( la casa azul es más
grande que la casa roja)

Beautiful  ( más de 1 sílaba) more beautiful: María is more beautiful than her sister.
(María es más guapa que su hermana)

El superlativo se emplea para decir que algo es lo superior en algo.

Para usar el superlativo tenemos que modificar el adjetivo según las sílabas, al igual que con
el comparativo. Sin embargo, en vez de añadir –ER en los adjetivos cortos añadimos –EST. Y
para los largos añadimos THE MOST en vez de MORE. E.j:

Long  (1 sílaba) longest: the blue house is the longest in town ( la casa azul es la más
grande del pueblo)

Beautiful  (más de una sílaba) the most beautiful: María is the most beautiful girl in the
class ( María es la chica más guapa de la clase)

En cambio, también existen algunas excepciones:

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Unit 1 Inglés Técnico Higiene Bucodental

Adjective form Comparative Superlative

ONE syllable, Add –R Add –ST

ending in E
(cute, fine, wide) (cuter, finer, wider) (cutest, finest, widest)

ONE syllable Double the consonant, Double the consonant and Add
with consonant + vowel + then Add –ER –ST
consonant at the end (hot,
big, fat) (hotter, bigger, fatter) (hottest, biggest, fattest)

TWO syllables Change Y to I, Change Y to I

ending in Y then Add –ER then Add –EST

(happy, silly, lonely) (happier, sillier, lonelier) (happiest, silliest, loneliest)

3.2. Complete the sentences. Use the comparative forms of the words in the
box. Use them where necessary.
big / crowded / early / easily / high / important / interested / peaceful / reliable
/ serious / simple / thin

1. I was feeling tired last night, so I went to bed ……………….usual.

2. I'd like to have a ………………car. The one I have keeps breaking down.
3. Unfortunately her illness was ………………………..we thought at first.
4. You look ………………………………. . Have you lost weight?
5. I want a ………………………apartment. We don't have enough space here.
6. He doesn't study very hard. He's …………………….. in having a good time.
7. Health and happiness are ……………………………………money.
8. The instructions were very complicated. They could have been ………………. .
9. There were a lot of people on the bus. It was ………………… usual.
10. I like living in the country. It's …………………………… living in a town.
11. You'll find your way around the town ………………… if you have a good map.
12. In some parts of the country, prices are ………………………. in others.
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Unit 1 Inglés Técnico Higiene Bucodental

3.3. Complete the sentences. Use the superlative (-est or most …) or a
comparative (-er or more …).

1. We stayed at …………… hotel in the town. (cheap)

2. Our hotel was …………than all the others in the town. (cheap)
3. The United States is very large, but Canada is ………………. (large)
4. What's …………………………… country in the world? (small)
5. I wasn't feeling well yesterday, but I feel a bit ……………. today. (good)
6. It was an awful day. It was ……………………. day of my life. (bad)
7. What is ………………………….. sport in your country? (popular)
8. Everest is ………………………. mountain in the world. It is ……………..than any other
mountain. (high)
9. This building is over 250 metres high, but it's not ………………........... in the city
(tall).
10. I prefer this chair to the other one. it's …………………… (comfortable)
11. What's ……………………… way to get to the station? (quick)
12. Which is …………………….. the bus or the train? (quick)
13. What's ………………………….thing you've ever bought? (expensive)
Sue and Kevin have got three daughters. ……………………is 14 years old. (old)

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Unit 1 Inglés Técnico Higiene Bucodental

 QUESTION WORDS

What………………………...Qué? Which………………………Cuál?
Where……………………….Dónde? Who………………………...Quién?
When………………………..Cuándo? How………………………....Cómo?
Why……………………….....Por qué? How much/many …………….Cuánto?

3.4. Fill in the correct question word.

a) ……………..… sits next to Frank? Clara.

b) …………….…. does the boy come from? He's from Newcastle.
c) ……………….. old are her children? They are seven and ten.
d) ………………… is Peter's birthday? In April, I think.
e) …………..…… much is the shirt? It's twenty pounds.
f) …………..…… is best at playing tennis? It's Bob.
g) ………………… are you going? I'm going to my friends.
h) ………………… is an orange juice? It's fifty pence.
i) ………….……. does the restaurant open? It opens at six o' clock.
j) ……………….. can I get some ice cream? You can get some at the snack bar.
k) ………...……… are you going to order? Fish and chips.
l) …………..……. are you going to do on Saturday? I don't know.
m) …………..……. has got my pullover? I have got it.
n) ………….…….. is your name? Carol.
o) ………………... is Susan's party? It's on Friday.
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Unit 1 Inglés Técnico Higiene Bucodental

 4.SPEAKING AND WRITING

4.1 Draw a mouth and indicate the different parts of it and say what they are in
Spanish. Test your classmate.

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Unit 1 Inglés Técnico Higiene Bucodental