Korean Job Discussion Forums

skookum · Joined: 11 Mar 2005

I went to the dentist the other day. Now, I'd had a crown installed a few years back in Korea so it wasn't my first time on this soil. But the guy started out by giving me something called an "endodontic treatment" This consisted of running something that felt like a sander over my back teeth and digging a big hole in one of them. Afterwards there was mercury amalgam dust all over my mouth. I spit and rinsed out as much as I could but god nose how much I might have ingested and inhaled.

So, back again in a couple days, at ten a.m. This time he set his young female assistants to work on me - another endodontic treatment. More mercury dust and another large hole, this one in the tooth in front of the previous one. Following that, he took to grinding more himself. He put a blindfold over my eyes, but I could feel with my tongue that the two teeth were down to just about nothing. My sweetie had come there with me and they called her over to show her the situation. She said to the only English-speaking person there "so they have to be extracted?" I heard sympathetic grunts from the English speaker as he walked away and as my sweetie left and went off to the hwajeongshil.

After three hours of work, I found the dentist had installed posts and prepared the two teeth for a crown. No further talk of extractions.....

In the afternoon I went back for another 1 1/2 hours. This time he extracted a tooth (that one I expected). And prepared three other teeth for crowns, and installed a temporary crown over those four.

And back for another "endodontic treatment." This time no grinding or amalgam powder, just some pain and scraping and buzzing and whooshing and some bad-tasting liquid. Now I have to go back in a couple days for another endodontic treatment.

So my questions are: What the heck is an endodontic treatment for (no one could explain that) and have any of you had that?

And will I lose my intellectual capacity as a result of all that mercury?

giraffe · Joined: 07 Apr 2009

ITs a root canal....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endodontic_therapy

tzechuk · Joined: 20 Dec 2004

Yes root canal. I had my first one for the first time this year!!

teachtravel80 · Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:02 pm Post subject: ouch

Good luck with that. I know a good dentist if you need.

nobbyken · Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Location: Yongin ^^

Yep, root treatment. Takes a few visits to get it completely out, but no chance of further toothache from the treated teeth. The teeth will be effectively dead and become weak and turn brown. The crown on top gives you a nice white hard surface for chewing.
The tooth being crowned needs to be solid to take the strain, and teeth which are porous need posts set in them to support the crown.
All tood fun and relatively painless in Korea, apart from the costs.

Forward Observer · Joined: 13 Jan 2009 Location: FOB Gloria

crossmr · Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul

multiple visits for a root canal? Shouldn't be like that anymore..
root canals can be done in a single visit now. While the white porcelain fillings don't seem to be as common in Korea, I'd hope the same root canal treatment is. 2 years ago in Canada, it took a single visit crown and all. He took a scan for a mold the machine tooled a crown while he worked on the canal, then he slapped it on.

Forward Observer · Joined: 13 Jan 2009 Location: FOB Gloria

crossmr · Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul

skookum · Joined: 11 Mar 2005

Back again this morning for another endodontic treatment. The dentist sez he'll do these for free, only charge for the crowns. Hope I understood this right!

Anyway they treated the only good tooth in my head - they had to crown it in order to connect it with the other teeth that are bad or missing. But I wouldn'd have though they'd needed to kill the nerve too....

So far, not much pain from all of this - their anaesthesia seems to work fine. They gave me pain killers but I only took a couple of them so far. It's all a matter of trust at this point - not much else I can do. I'll trust them until it seems they've screwed it up. So far, so good, I guess......

My mouth and even my nose was all numb when I got out. I still went and had a tasty patbingsu right afterwards. Numb and all I still enjoyed it.

roll_eks · Joined: 31 Aug 2009 Location: Seoul from Nevada

crossmr · Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul

Old fat expat · Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 3:16 am Post subject:

In the States endo work is normally done differently than her in the ROK. In the US they will numb the major nerve and drill out the pulp, and depending on the severity of the decay, place a post. Severly decayed dentition may require a custom post. Often this proceedure is done in a D.D.S. office, but more difficult cases are handled by a endodontist.

Here in Korea, the procedure is a little different. They work by numbing the tooth itself (not the nerve system). Thsi has its good points and bad points.

Good points = although slightly drawn out, less overall pain, and the process can be mediated as the DDS evaluates the proces.

Bad points = drawn out.

Done properly, either is good.

Having had endo work done in Korea and the US (and having 20 years as a dental tech before doing this work) can't say which is better as it really (and I mean REALLY) depends on the skill of your dentist.

As I mentioned, 20 years as a tech in the US, I have seen great dentists. I have also seen real scum. Overall, in the States, the top 20 % are good. The reat are ... well ...

My personal op is that in the ROK, the top 10% are really good. The rest ... ?

skookum · Joined: 11 Mar 2005

Whoo! Back for another heavy-duty session. He put on two crowns in back - then made a mold for the crowns in front. One of my bottom teeth came out in the process. (this didn't surprise me - it was rotten and I'd been thinking of having it extracted anyway...) He was gonna put the old crown back on with a new post and stuffing but he found the base was cracked. So he extracted the tooth - an unusually-difficult procedure as the tooth was broken off below the gum-line.

I was in the office for three and a half hours - damn, they do have long appointments in this country, but at least I get it done. All this work would likely take months back home. I have an appointment next week and hopefully that will be it.

A thing I noticed here - when they want you to open your mouth, they say "ahhhhhhh" (rising tone at the end). At one point there were three dentists all saying that repeatedly at the same time. Sounded like an aviary!

Forward Observer · Joined: 13 Jan 2009 Location: FOB Gloria

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/09/117_50626.html

Op, how long has your whole root canal (endodontic treatment) lasted? Mine is going to take a total of six weeks because my dental hospital and chief of the dept is busy and there are no available spots on his schedule, and of course the chuseok holiday...six weeks for ONE tooth. Ugh.