Periksa sinar-X pergigian agar tidak mencabut gigi yang salah.

Yes. Periksa here is an imperative form, meaning Check or Examine.

Malay often gives instructions without explicitly stating you. So:

• Periksa sinar-X pergigian = Check the dental X-ray

This is very natural in instructions, warnings, and professional settings.

Malay often omits the subject when it is obvious from context, especially in commands.

So instead of saying something like You check the dental X-ray, Malay simply says:

• Periksa ... = Check ...

The listener is understood automatically.

Sinar-X means X-ray.

Pergigian means dental or related to teeth/dentistry. It comes from gigi (tooth/teeth), but pergigian is the more formal adjective-like form used in medical or dental contexts.

So:

• sinar-X pergigian = dental X-ray

Because pergigian sounds more natural in formal or technical language.

Compare:

• gigi = tooth / teeth
• pergigian = dental / relating to teeth

So:

• doktor pergigian = dentist
• klinik pergigian = dental clinic
• sinar-X pergigian = dental X-ray

Using gigi directly here would sound less polished or less standard.

Agar means so that, in order that, or so as not to depending on context.

Here it introduces the purpose or preventive reason for checking the X-ray:

• agar tidak mencabut gigi yang salah
• so as not to extract the wrong tooth

It connects the action with the desired result.

Yes. Agar and supaya are often very similar and both can mean so that.

So this would also work:

• Periksa sinar-X pergigian supaya tidak mencabut gigi yang salah.

In many contexts they are interchangeable, though agar can sound a little more formal or written.

Good question.

• jangan is used for a direct negative command: don’t do it
• tidak is used for negation in statements, subordinate clauses, and many non-command structures

Here, the sentence is not directly saying:

• Don’t extract the wrong tooth

Instead, it says:

• Check the dental X-ray so that you do not extract the wrong tooth

Because this is a purpose clause introduced by agar, tidak is correct.

Cabut is the root word, meaning pull out, remove, or extract.

Mencabut is the active verb form built from cabut with the meN- prefix.

So:

• cabut gigi = pull out/extract a tooth
• mencabut gigi = to extract a tooth

In a full sentence, mencabut is usually the more grammatical finite verb form.

This is due to the meN- verb prefix in Malay.

The root is:

• cabut

When meN- is added to roots beginning with c, it normally becomes:

• men- + cabut → mencabut

This is a standard sound pattern in Malay word formation.

Literally, it means:

• the tooth that is wrong

In natural English, that becomes:

• the wrong tooth

The structure noun + yang + adjective is common in Malay when identifying a specific thing.

So:

• gigi yang salah = the wrong tooth

Yang links a noun to a describing phrase. It often works like that, which, or sometimes just marks a description.

Here:

• gigi = tooth
• yang salah = that is wrong / mistaken

Together:

• gigi yang salah = the wrong tooth

Without yang, the phrase would sound unnatural in this context.

Yes. Salah means wrong, incorrect, or mistaken.

In this sentence, the tooth itself is not morally wrong, of course; it means the incorrect tooth, meaning the one that was not supposed to be extracted.

This is a very natural use of salah in Malay.

It can mean both literally and generally:

• mencabut gigi = to pull out a tooth
• in dental/medical context, it naturally means to extract a tooth

Because the sentence mentions a dental X-ray, the professional meaning extract a tooth is the best fit.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Periksa = Check
• sinar-X pergigian = the dental X-ray
• agar = so that / in order that
• tidak mencabut = not extract
• gigi yang salah = the wrong tooth

So the structure is:

• [Command] + [object] + [purpose clause]

That is:

• Check the dental X-ray so that you do not extract the wrong tooth.

Yes. Malay imperatives often sound general and can apply to:

• you singular
• you plural
• one should ...
• staff should ...

So depending on context, the sentence could feel like:

• Check the dental X-ray so you don’t extract the wrong tooth
• Always check the dental X-ray to avoid extracting the wrong tooth

Malay often leaves that broader interpretation to context.

It sounds neutral to formal, especially because of words like:

• sinar-X
• pergigian
• agar
• mencabut

This is the kind of Malay you might see in:

• professional instructions
• training material
• medical reminders
• formal spoken advice

It is not overly stiff, but it is definitely not very casual everyday chat.