Semasa temu janji pergigian, doktor gigi memeriksa rekod pergigian.

Semasa means during or at the time of. In this sentence, Semasa temu janji pergigian means during the dental appointment.

It is very close in meaning to ketika, and in many cases they can both be translated as during or when.
For example:

• Semasa kelas = during class
• Ketika kelas = during class

In everyday Malay, both are common, but semasa often sounds a bit more neutral and practical in this kind of sentence.

Temu janji is the standard Malay expression for appointment.

Literally:

• temu = meet
• janji = promise

So the idea is something like a promised meeting or arranged meeting. That is why it means appointment.

Common examples:

• temu janji doktor = doctor’s appointment
• temu janji pergigian = dental appointment

Pergigian means dental or related to teeth.

It comes from gigi, which means tooth or teeth. The form pergigian is a derived noun/adjective referring to the field or area connected with teeth.

So:

• gigi = tooth/teeth
• pergigian = dental

That is why:

• temu janji pergigian = dental appointment
• rekod pergigian = dental records

In Malay, doktor gigi is the normal and very common way to say dentist.

Literally, it means:

• doktor = doctor
• gigi = teeth

So doktor gigi is basically tooth doctor.

There is also the more formal word doktor pergigian, but doktor gigi is extremely common in everyday use and sounds natural.

Malay usually puts the main noun first and the word describing it afterward.

So:

• rekod pergigian = records dental = dental records
• doktor gigi = doctor teeth = dentist
• temu janji pergigian = appointment dental = dental appointment

This is a very important difference from English. English often puts modifiers before the noun, but Malay often places them after the noun.

Memeriksa means to examine, to inspect, or to check.

Its root is periksa, meaning examine/check. When the active verb prefix meN- is added, it becomes memeriksa.

A useful thing to notice is that with this prefix, the initial p in periksa drops:

• periksa → memeriksa

This is a common pattern in Malay word formation.

Examples:

• Doktor memeriksa pesakit. = The doctor examines the patient.
• Dia memeriksa fail. = He/She checks the file.

Yes. Memeriksa is flexible and can mean:

• examine
• inspect
• check

The best English translation depends on context.

In a medical or dental setting, examines is often the best choice. But if the focus is on looking through files or information, checks may also fit.

So in this sentence, doktor gigi memeriksa rekod pergigian could be understood as:

• the dentist examines the dental records
• the dentist checks the dental records

Both are reasonable, depending on context.

Malay does not usually use articles like the and a/an the way English does.

So:

• doktor gigi can mean the dentist or a dentist
• rekod pergigian can mean the dental records or dental records

The exact meaning depends on context.

That means Malay often leaves this kind of definiteness unstated unless there is a special reason to make it clear.

The comma is helpful, but not always strictly necessary.

Because Semasa temu janji pergigian is an introductory time phrase, the comma makes the sentence easier to read:

• Semasa temu janji pergigian, doktor gigi memeriksa rekod pergigian.

Without the comma, the meaning is still clear:

• Semasa temu janji pergigian doktor gigi memeriksa rekod pergigian.

But the comma is better style here because it separates the time phrase from the main clause.

Yes. Malay allows some flexibility in word order, especially with time expressions.

The given sentence starts with the time phrase:

• Semasa temu janji pergigian, doktor gigi memeriksa rekod pergigian.

You could also say:

• Doktor gigi memeriksa rekod pergigian semasa temu janji pergigian.

Both are grammatical. The version with semasa at the beginning puts a bit more emphasis on when the action happens.

It behaves like an attributive modifier here, which is similar to how an adjective works in English, but Malay word classes do not always match English categories exactly.

In:

• temu janji pergigian
• rekod pergigian

pergigian means dental and modifies the noun before it. So for a learner, it is usually easiest to think of it as a word meaning dental placed after the noun.

Yes, it is natural and clear.

It sounds like a neutral, standard sentence you might see in a textbook, medical context, or explanatory passage.

A speaker might also say slightly different versions depending on context, such as:

• Semasa temu janji dengan doktor gigi, dia memeriksa rekod pergigian.
• Doktor gigi memeriksa rekod pergigian semasa temu janji.

But the original sentence is perfectly good Malay.