Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Setelah dokter gigi membersihkan gigi saya, sakit gigi hilang sehingga saya bisa makan lagi. - After the dentist cleans my teeth, the toothache disappears so I can eat again.

Setelah means after (something has happened), regardless of past, present, or future.
The time reference (past here) is understood from context, not from verb changes.

So Setelah dokter gigi membersihkan gigi saya can mean:

After the dentist cleaned my teeth (past), or
After the dentist cleans my teeth (future: for example, in instructions).

Indonesian normally does not mark tense on verbs; it relies on time expressions (kemarin, nanti, tadi) or context. You could add tadi (a little while ago) for clarity:
Setelah tadi dokter gigi membersihkan gigi saya… (After the dentist cleaned my teeth earlier…)

Could I use sesudah instead of setelah? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can.

Setelah and sesudah both mean after and are interchangeable in most everyday contexts:
- Setelah dokter gigi membersihkan gigi saya…
- Sesudah dokter gigi membersihkan gigi saya…

Differences:

Setelah is slightly more common in writing and feels a bit more neutral/formal.
Sesudah can feel a bit more everyday/conversational in some regions, though it’s also standard.

For learners, you can treat them as synonyms in most cases.

In dokter gigi, why is it “doctor tooth” and not the other way around? How does this work?

In Indonesian, noun + noun combinations usually go head noun + modifier noun.

dokter gigi = doctor (of) teeth → dentist
- dokter = doctor
- gigi = tooth/teeth

You cannot reverse it to gigi dokter if you mean dentist; that would mean “the doctor’s tooth/teeth” or “tooth of the doctor,” depending on context.

Other examples:

dokter hewan = animal doctor → veterinarian
toko buku = book shop → bookstore
rumah sakit = sick house → hospital

Why is there no word like “the” or “a” in this sentence? How do I know if it’s the dentist or just a dentist?

Indonesian doesn’t have direct equivalents of English a/an or the.
The specificity comes from context, not from articles.

dokter gigi can mean a dentist or the dentist.
gigi saya can mean my tooth or my teeth (context decides number too).

If the context is your recent visit to a particular dentist, listeners will naturally interpret dokter gigi as the dentist (I went to). If you need to emphasize “that specific dentist,” you can add:

dokter gigi itu = that dentist / the dentist
dokter gigi saya = my dentist

In dokter gigi membersihkan gigi saya, where is the subject and where is the verb? There’s no pronoun in front of the verb.

The structure is:

dokter gigi → subject (the dentist)
membersihkan → verb (to clean)
gigi saya → object (my teeth)

So dokter gigi membersihkan gigi saya = the dentist cleaned my teeth (or cleans my teeth). Indonesian doesn’t need a pronoun here because dokter gigi itself is the subject; a separate dia (he/she) is not needed.

What is the base word of membersihkan, and why does it have mem- in front?

The base word is bersih = clean (adjective).

To turn it into an active verb meaning to clean (something), Indonesian adds the prefix meN- plus the suffix -kan → membersihkan.

bersih → adjective bersih (clean)
meN + bersih
- kan → membersihkan (to clean something)

The meN- prefix changes shape depending on the first consonant of the root:

meN + bersih → mem
- bersihkan → membersihkan

This meN- pattern is very common:

membaca (to read) from baca
mengirimkan (to send) from kirim
menulis (to write) from tulis

Could I say menggosok gigi saya instead of membersihkan gigi saya? Does it mean the same thing?

They are close but not identical.

membersihkan gigi saya = clean my teeth (more general; could be at home or at the dentist).
menggosok gigi saya = brush my teeth (specifically the action of brushing).

At the dentist, the common phrase is still membersihkan gigi (professional cleaning, scaling, etc.).
At home, you’d usually say:

saya menggosok gigi = I brush my teeth.

In sakit gigi hilang, what exactly is hilang? Is it a verb or an adjective?

Hilang can function both as:

a verb: to disappear, to be gone, to be lost
an adjective/state: gone, missing

In sakit gigi hilang, it is best read as a verb-like predicate:
sakit gigi (toothache) + hilang (disappeared / went away).

So the structure is similar to:

Sakit kepala hilang. = The headache went away.
Lapar saya hilang. = My hunger disappeared.

Indonesian often uses an adjective or stative word as a predicate without any form of “to be.”

Why is it sakit gigi and not sakit gigi saya if it’s my toothache?

Sakit gigi literally means tooth pain / toothache in general. In Indonesian:

sakit + body part is a common pattern for [body part] ache:
- sakit kepala = headache
- sakit perut = stomachache
- sakit gigi = toothache

Often the owner (my/your/his) is understood from context and doesn’t need to be stated. In this sentence, the previous mention of gigi saya already tells us it’s your teeth, so sakit gigi is naturally interpreted as my toothache.

You can say:

sakit gigi saya hilang = my toothache disappeared,
but it’s not required.

Is the comma after gigi saya necessary, and does it affect the meaning?

The comma is natural and helpful, but the meaning stays the same without it.

Setelah dokter gigi membersihkan gigi saya, sakit gigi hilang…
The comma divides:
- the time clause: Setelah dokter gigi membersihkan gigi saya (After the dentist cleaned my teeth),
- and the main clause: sakit gigi hilang sehingga saya bisa makan lagi (the toothache disappeared so I could eat again).

In informal writing or texting, many Indonesians drop commas, but in standard written Indonesian, having the comma after such an initial clause is recommended.

How does sehingga work here? Can I replace it with jadi?

Sehingga introduces a result clause, roughly so that / as a result (that).

sakit gigi hilang sehingga saya bisa makan lagi
→ toothache disappeared, so that I could eat again.

You can often replace sehingga with jadi in everyday speech:

Sakit gigi hilang jadi saya bisa makan lagi.

Differences:

sehingga is more formal/neutral and common in writing.
jadi is more conversational and often used at the start of a sentence (like “so…” in English).

Both are acceptable in spoken, informal Indonesian; in formal writing, sehingga is preferred here.

What’s the difference between bisa and dapat in saya bisa makan lagi? Are they interchangeable?

In this sentence, they are interchangeable in meaning:

saya bisa makan lagi
saya dapat makan lagi

Both mean I can eat again / I’m able to eat again.

Nuances (not strict rules, just tendencies):

bisa is the most common in everyday speech.
dapat can sound slightly more formal or written.
In some contexts, dapat can also mean to get / to receive, while bisa does not:
- Saya dapat hadiah. = I got a present.

For expressing general ability in spoken Indonesian, bisa is usually your safest choice.

What does lagi mean here? I’ve seen it used as “again,” “anymore,” and “still.”

Lagi is very flexible, and its meaning depends on context.

Main uses:

again
- Saya bisa makan lagi. = I can eat again.
- Dia datang lagi. = He/She came again.
anymore (in negative sentences)
- Saya tidak sakit lagi. = I am not sick anymore.
- Dia tidak tinggal di sini lagi. = He/She doesn’t live here anymore.
still (informal, often masih is used for “still”)
- Dia lagi makan. (informal/slangy) = He/She is eating (currently, still in the process).

In this sentence, lagi clearly means again: after the toothache disappears, you can eat again.

Could I say this sentence in a passive form, like “After my teeth were cleaned by the dentist…” in Indonesian?

Yes. A natural passive version would be:

Setelah gigi saya dibersihkan oleh dokter gigi, sakit gigi hilang sehingga saya bisa makan lagi.

Changes:

membersihkan (active) → dibersihkan (passive).
The patient gigi saya moves to the front of the clause.
You can optionally include the agent with oleh:
- oleh dokter gigi = by the dentist.

Both active and passive are correct:

Active: Setelah dokter gigi membersihkan gigi saya…
Passive: Setelah gigi saya dibersihkan (oleh dokter gigi)…

Indonesian uses both, but the active version you gave is very natural and common in speech.