
Listening activity
The clip weāll watch is included on the website. You donāt need access to any paid streaming platforms.
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Conversation practice
- Have you had your wisdom teeth pulled?
- Do you floss?
- How often do you get a dental cleaning?
- Do you have any cavities?
- Have you ever had braces?
- What do you think a dental phobia is?
- Why are people anxious about visiting their dentists?
- What does āfillingā mean?

According to Cambridge dictionary, the noun filling is:
1. AnyĀ materialĀ used toĀ fillĀ something, e.g. A duvet with synthetic filling.
2. A layer of food inside a sandwich, cake, etc. e.g. Pies with sweet fillings.
3. The artificial substance put into holes in teeth to repair them.
As an adjective, it means
4. Making you feel full after eating only a small amount, e.g. This chocolate cake is very filling.
- What is your favourite pie filling? š„§
- Do you usually eat filling breakfasts? š„
- Which pillow filling do you use? A synthetic filling or down filling (filling made of feathers)? šļø
- How many dental fillings does an average adult have? š¦·
The answer
According to Rinaldi Dental Arts, itās 3. Reference: link
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Exercise 1
Take a look at those three sentences and fill the gaps using the correct grammatical structures. Then watch the clip and check if you were right.
- I woke up that morning and a filling that I ... (have), had fallen out.
- Take care of your teeth cause you donāt want to have massive fillings like I ... (have to).
- I woke up that morning and I could feel with my tongue that a piece of my tooth ... (side off) my filling.
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Letās watch the clip! š„
Play this video from 39:07 to 39:55.

Exercise 2
Watch the clip and fill in the gaps.
- Take care of your teeth, please. Brush your teeth, f..., go to the dentist often.
- You donāt want to get m... fillings like Iāve had to.
- They only give you t... the older you get.
- I had a big filling that had a very tiny s... of tooth on the outside of it to try and r... as much of my tooth as it could.
- I felt with my tongue and a piece of my tooth had just s... off the filling.
- My whole tooth was e...
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Interesting vocabulary
Take a look at the words and phrases used in this clip.
- a dental filling - The artificial substance put into holes in teeth to repair them.
- to floss - to clean between your teeth using dental floss acc. Watch this clip to hear āflossā used by a native speaker.
- massive - very big e.g. Wyatt is a massive dog.
- a sliver - a very small, thin piece of something, usually broken off something larger, e.g. Just a sliver of cake for me, please - I shouldnāt really be having any. In this clip, Joey asks Monica to cut him a sliver of pie. Play the video at 3:48.
- to retain - to keep or continue to have something, e.g. He managed to retain his dignity throughout the performance. - If a substance retains something, such as heat or water, it continues to hold or contain it, e.g. The sea retains the sunās warmth longer than the land.
- to slide off - to slip along the surface of something and fall off, e.g. All of the toppings slid off my ice cream sundae before I could take a single bite.
- exposed - not covered, able to be seen, e.g. He left some exposed wires that should be covered up.
Definitions and examples - https://dictionary.cambridge.org/
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Conversation
Answer those questions and donāt forget to use new words youāve learnt!
- Why was that day the roughest in his life?
- How does SeƔn recommend you to take care of your teeth?
- How do you take care of your teeth?
- What did SeƔn have to do because of the tooth incident?
- When you eat a pie with your favourite filling do you cut yourself just a sliver or do you get a massive slice?
- What can companies do to retain their employees?
Ā
Answer key
Exercise 1
- I woke up that morning and a filling that I had had, had fallen out.
- Take care of your teeth cause you donāt want to have massive fillings like Iāve had to.
- I woke up that morning and I could feel with my tongue that a piece of my tooth had just like slid off my filling.
Exercise 2
- Take care of your teeth, please. Brush your teeth, floss, go to the dentist often.
- You donāt want to get massive fillings like Iāve had to.
- They only give you trouble the older you get.
- I had a big filling that had a very tiny sliver of tooth on the outside of it to try and retain as much of my tooth as it could.
- I felt with my tongue and a piece of my tooth had just slid off the filling.
- My whole tooth was exposed.
Further practice
Check out Jackscepticeyeās YouTube channel! If youāre fond of video games, his videos will definitely interest you. Every time I listen to SeĆ”n, I learn a few new words. Grab a beer, a notepad and a pencil, and go watch more videos!