UNL student creates Spanish dental terms pronunciation guide

Renee Box, a sophomore at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, partnered with the College of Dentistry to create a Spanish pronunciation guide for dental vocabulary.

The guide will be used by volunteers who translate for Spanish-speaking patients at the College of Dentistry's Children's Dental Day, an annual event where the college provides free dental care to underserved children from across Nebraska.

Renee, a biological sciences major with a Spanish minor, hopes the guide will make learning dental care vocabulary easier for volunteers so they are more confident when translating for dental patients.

"Linking new vocabulary with pictures always helps me memorize new terms, so I made the video so volunteers can use it much like flashcards to practice and memorize words," Renee said.   

Renee completed the project for a Spanish course she took to fulfill requirements for the University of Nebraska Honors Program. One of the things she most enjoyed about the process was being able to focus on her own pronunciation. 

"I was able to ask questions and fix pronunciation mistakes with the help of my professors, Jose Daniel Lino Plata and Dr. Kelly Kinsbury Brunetto. I would like to thank them and Erin Wirth for all of the help they gave me and for allowing me to do this project," Renee said.

"I plan to use everything I learned while completing this project to volunteer at the next Children’s Dental Day!"

View Pronunciation Guide