I don't want to say anything...,

Status
Not open for further replies.

Silverobama

Key Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
I went to see my dentist yesterday and have my teeth washed. (They used a machine to clean the "teeth stone" on my teeth.) I felt a bit sensitive and didn't even want to open my mouth to say anything. My friend asked me to go to an English club with him. I refused and said "I just had my teeth washed and didn't feel very cosy; I don't want to say anything."

Is the italic sentence natural?
 
I went to see my dentist yesterday and to have my teeth washed cleaned.
In the UK, we call this whole procedure "going to the hygienist". Every dental surgery has a hygienist and patients are generally expected to visit the hygienist at least once a year and the dentist at least once every two years.
(They used a machine to clean the "teeth stone" on my teeth.)
With regard to the underlined phrase, do you mean the enamel?
Afterwards, I felt a bit sensitive and didn't even want to speak. open my mouth to say anything.
Did you feel sensitive (easy to upset) or were your teeth sensitive?
When my friend asked me to go to an English club with him that evening, I refused and said "I've just had my teeth washed cleaned [at the dentist's] and didn't don't feel very cosy comfortable; I don't want to say anything talk."
As indicated in my first comment on this post, I'd say "I went to the hygienist today ...".
 
I think the "teeth stone" is the hard deposit on the teeth called tartar or calculus.
 
In that case, you went to the dentist to have the tartar/dental calculus removed from your teeth.
Did I rephrase my sentence naturally? Since here we have only dentists (we don't have hygienists), I'll just use "dentist" in the sentence.

I've just had my tartars/dental calculuses removed [at the dentist's] and don't feel very comfortable; I don't want to talk.
 
The process of removal of tartar from the teeth is called scaling, which is a more common term used.
You could say: I just had scaling and cleaning done (on my teeth) at the dentist's...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Also, both "tartar" and "dental calculus" are uncountable so you can't pluralise them.
 
I went to see my dentist yesterday and have my teeth washed. (They used a machine to clean the "teeth stone" on my teeth.) I felt a bit sensitive and didn't even want to open my mouth to say anything. My friend asked me to go to an English club with him. I refused and said "I just had my teeth washed and didn't feel very cosy; I don't want to say anything."

Is the italic sentence natural?
I would say 'I have just had my teeth cleaned, so I don't feel like going out at the moment'. Or you could say, 'I don't feel very comfortable.' Cosy is usually used when we feel warm and comfortable, so it wouldn't be used in this context.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ask a Teacher

If you have a question about the English language and would like to ask one of our many English teachers and language experts, please click the button below to let us know:

(Requires Registration)
Back
Top