Tandlægen skal lægge lokalbedøvelse.

Because tandlæge means dentist, and -en is the usual definite ending for a singular common-gender noun.

So:

• en tandlæge = a dentist
• tandlægen = the dentist

Unlike English, Danish often puts the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word before it.

Skal is the present tense of skulle, a modal verb.

In this sentence, skal can suggest:

• must
• has to
• is supposed to
• is going to

So Tandlægen skal lægge lokalbedøvelse can mean something like:

• The dentist has to administer local anesthesia
• The dentist is going to give local anesthesia

The exact nuance depends on context. In a medical situation, it often sounds like a planned or necessary next step.

Yes, lægge often literally means to lay or to put. But in Danish it is also used idiomatically in some medical contexts.

Here, lægge lokalbedøvelse means to administer / give local anesthesia.

So this is not a very literal put in English. It is just the normal Danish way to express this action.

You will see similar usage in other fixed expressions where Danish uses a very everyday verb in a more specialized way.

Because lokalbedøvelse is being used here more like an uncountable treatment or substance, similar to English local anesthesia.

So:

• lægge lokalbedøvelse = administer local anesthesia

This is very natural when talking about the procedure in general.

You can also hear en lokalbedøvelse, but that sounds more like:

• one instance of it
• one anesthetic injection
• a specific local anesthetic treatment

So the version without en is very natural in this sentence.

Yes. Danish very often forms compound nouns as a single word.

Here:

• lokal = local
• bedøvelse = anesthesia / numbing / anesthetic

Together:

• lokalbedøvelse = local anesthesia

This is completely normal in Danish. English often writes these ideas as two words, but Danish usually prefers one compound word.

The structure is:

• Tandlægen = subject
• skal = finite verb
• lægge = infinitive main verb
• lokalbedøvelse = object

So the pattern is:

subject + finite verb + infinitive + object

This happens because skal is a modal verb. After a modal verb in Danish, the main verb usually stays in the infinitive form.

That is why you get:

• Tandlægen skal lægge lokalbedøvelse

and not a form where lægge is conjugated.

Grammatically, skal is in the present tense. But in meaning, the sentence often points to something that will happen next.

So it is present in form, but often future-oriented in meaning.

That is very common with Danish modal verbs.

Depending on context, the sentence may mean:

• The dentist is about to administer local anesthesia
• The dentist will have to administer local anesthesia

Yes. In Danish, yes/no questions are often made by putting the finite verb first.

So:

• Tandlægen skal lægge lokalbedøvelse. = statement
• Skal tandlægen lægge lokalbedøvelse? = Is the dentist going to administer local anesthesia?

That verb-first pattern is very common in Danish questions.

Then you would use en tandlæge:

• En tandlæge skal lægge lokalbedøvelse.

That means A dentist is going to administer local anesthesia or A dentist has to administer local anesthesia.

So the contrast is:

• en tandlæge = a dentist
• tandlægen = the dentist