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flyingkiwi · Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 3:43 am Post subject: Dental care in Japan

I'm thinking of going to the dentist here, as I haven't been since I came to Japan in three years.

What is dental care like compared to your home country, and, most importantly, how much will it cost without shokai hoken (national insurance)?

flyer · Joined: 16 May 2003 Posts: 539 Location: Sapporo Japan

the thing that surprised me most was you were seated in a line of other seats, no private room like back home
and I swear he used the same gloves on all the paitents??
its hard to say for prices as the time and work invloved would be different
but a filling and check would be around 10,000?

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

The only time I went to a standard dentist here I found the same thing- he was going back and forth between several patients and not changing his gloves at all. The surgery looked like none of the equipment had been replaced since the 70s, and they wanted me to come in twice to have my teeth cleaned- once for the top and once for the bottom.

Since then I have made a point of going to overseas-trained dentists. I was going to a US-trained guy for a while but he was a bit more expensive and out of my way so I have changed to an Australian-trained one who is closer to where I live. I pay about �6,000 for a check and clean.

reasonJP · Joined: 17 Jul 2008 Posts: 48

I had a really good dentist when I needed one a couple of years ago, there was two chairs in the room and one dentist on each. Shakai Hoken should cover it I think, although it's not all that expensive anyway. One thing's for certain, if you need work to be done, it'll take an age. For some reason, they can never do the job in one go, and will make you keep coming back every week for ages while they chip away at it.

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

That's one of the main reasons I choose to go to overseas-trained dentists who market themselves to the foreign community- because they will finish the job in one visit. I hate going to to the dentist, and there's no way I'm going back time and time again for a job I know can be finished in one visit, or walking around with a gaping hole in my tooth because they won't drill and fill in the same visit.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Most convenient dentist to me was one for kids, so all the staff were women, including the dentists themselves. Very nice treatment.

As mentioned earlier, a cleaning takes 2 trips unless you can persuade them to do it all in one sitting. A checkup cost me just under 2000 yen with insurance, so figure if that is 30%, then with no insurance you may have to pay just under 10,000. Cleaning could be roughly half that cost or slightly more. I had them clean my teeth but also do a quickie tiny filling on one day for the same cost as above, and on the final day with no filling, it cost just under 1000 yen.

Not sure if they'll even take you without insurance, though.

flyingkiwi · Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 4:59 am Post subject:

I answered my own question by going yesterday. It was 5000 yen for a checkup and cleaning. Without insurance.

I hadn't been for 3 years, and back home I would always have cavities, so this time I was expecting about five fillings Embarassed

But the guy didn't find any. I was amazed, and relieved. It got my thinking though that maybe the dentists over here aren't so fussy about findng cavities??

Or maybe all my teeth already have fillings Smile

The cleaning was uncomfortable, but that was to be expected.

Thanks for the replies.