Job Discussion Forums

[zebra_fish2000]

Hi,

My wife and I recently landed teaching jobs in Japan, starting in October. But I just found out I need to have some major bridgework done, which in no way will be done before October. (When I was a kid, I got hit in the mouth by a flying rock.) Anyway, the anchor tooth has gone bad and I have to have implants because a traditional bridge won't work. It's going to cost me a small fortune - over 15 grand. I'm wondering if I might try getting it fixed in Japan since my insurance here in the States won't cover implants anyway.

Can anyone comment on what Japanese dental care is like? Expensive? Affordable? Cutting edge? Etcetera, etcetera. I'd sure appreciate it. I've got to make a quick decision!

Thanks!

[PAULH]

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Japanese dental care.

Quite the oxymoron.

(Jumbo shrimp, Dodge Ram, etc.)

[T-Bone]

[easyasabc]

[Gordon]

I like my teeth too much to go to a Japanese dentist. There are no US trained or English speaking dentists near where I live. A friend flies to Tokyo to see a dentist there because of the problems she is having.

[ryuro]

I have only one word to add to help decribe Japanese dental practices...

Medieval!

[ruggedtoast]

bangkok is quite a centre for good quality but low cost medical care in SE Asia. I would probably try there if you have enough time.

Ive never used the medical facilities in Japan but from the stories Ive heard from people who have I would avoid having any treatment here unless its unavoidable.

[zebra_fish2000]

Thank you all for your feedback! Appreciated.

Quite a surprise, I have to say....

If anybody has experienced anything different, I'd still like to hear. If anyone knows of an orthodontist or dental surgeon they'd swear by in, say, Tokyo, then I might risk it. I've about a week in which to make my decision.

[chi-chi]

What's the deal on the dentists, btw?
I recently was told in the US that I was a few months away from needing a root canal. (Ok, to be fair, I had returned from living in Korea and Taiwan, also, but still...)
Why is the dental care supposedly inadequate?

[shmooj]

Okay let me shift the balance here and provide something positive.

The dentist we used for six years in Japan was nothing short of exceptional. She was extremely conscientious, informative (spoke English) and very very helpful. Heck, once she even made me a toothbrush just to reach a particularly difficult part of my mouth. I still have it and use it twice a day.

We weren't in a big place.

Moral of the story: try it and see. You can find some excellent practitioners out there.

[bearcat]

There is little to no accountability for Dentists in Japan for subpar work.

Add to this that in Japan, the predominant philosophy is to undermedicate or treat and allow the body to do the rest. In other words meds are low dosages and painkillers are considered childish.

That said I had to have a two cavities filled in Japan a few years back (different occasions). First occasion the dentist refused to use porcelain or amalgam fillings and drilled away most of the tooth, made a cast of it, plugged it with a rubber filling and told me to come back the next week. Following week they put in a casted metal filling that had to be adjusted for an hour to get it to fit in. Then after that it had nasty rough edges that I had to ask 4 times to get sanded down.... which by the way the assistant handled most of the work and got haughty because I asked to have it filed down more than once. It is still slightly rough btw.

So I thought damn that was awful and decided a few months later to try a different dentist for a routine cleaning. Did the cleaning but he found another cavity in a different tooth. Yes, he would use amalgam or a procelain type filling if I desired. He also spoke some basic english. I thought things would be better.

So he schedules me to come the next week for the filling (Japanese dentists and doctors like you to come upteen times because they can get more money from the insurance that way instead of doing it all at once.)

I come in and he sets me down for the procedure. WITH OUT shooting me up for the drilling. When I tried to complain he bragged in Japanese that he was good at what he did and that he would not cause me any pain as the cavity was not so large and not so deep.

Well I quickly found out (though some nasty pain) that this was pure horse hockey on his part. It hurt like hell. I was clenching the chair so hard with my arms and hands that they hurt the next day from the clenching.

When the procedure was done, he made an off color comment in Japanese about me being so childish when reacting to the pain.

I wont repeat what I told him he could do with his comment nor the ensuing arguement in front of two other patients suffice to say I wont be back and most likely he wont venture to treat another foreigner again.

Flying home for dental work unless in an extreme emergency is well worth the extra costs IMO.

[Munchen]

Has anyone living in Japan actually had complete extractions done and gotten full dentures? Just curious. Would one recommend having this procedure done in the home country, in my case, the USA?
I know this subject has come up in the past on this forum, but would appreciate any input on this subject.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Sorry to remain negative, but I had a Japanese wife for five years.

Although she was beautiful, her teeth were not unlike the rocky mountains. And she had full dental care as a child!

[bushido]

Many expats get their teeth whitened here. It is cheaper in Japan than
North America and they do an excellent job.