Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Enigma]

I received a booklet in the mail from the National Health System that included a coupon for a free dental check-up. As I haven't been to a dentist forever, I decided to get checked out. The dentist spoke pretty good English and explained that I needed two of my fillings to be restored, and I also had some decay in one of my teeth that needed to be taken care of.
I have no idea what percentage the Health System covers for dental care, so I'm wondering if anyone could give me a ballpark figure of what kind of money I'd be looking at to get that work done.

Thanks

[ttompatz]

[loubird]

I use Hushu dentist in bundang (there's also one in Seoul)

http://english.hus-hu.com/?gclid=CO6lxaK38qUCFQPhbgodCVhpnQ

They speak English and are generally pretty great. A cleaning costs 50,000 won and a cavity is 100,000 won. I believe the filling was so expensive because it was a white filling, instead of a metal one, which (while I didn't ask), is apparently covered by NHI.

[Caffeinated]

I went to Hu's hu in Apgujeong and cannot recommend them after getting charged 300,000won more than their initial quote. Also, the crown I got from them seems to be wearing down fast in places.

[loubird]

Caffeinated-- that's terrible! I went to the one right off the Sunae stop on the Bundang line and they were terrfic, they even gave me a little goody bag of face masks to take home with me. My husband is actually returning there tonight to get four (!!) cavities filled, for 400,000 won-- I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

[sweet_potato]

i needed a crown done, which my dentist in canada estimated would cost me around 800 bucks.

i decided to take care of it while in korea. i live in a smaller city, and it took a few dental offices until i found a place that didn't gasp upon seeing me enter. reception typically doesn't speak much english, but most dentists will speak passable english to communicate with u. i ended up going to a random small dental office. i brought my insurance paper and alien card. the dentist found 2 small cavities, which my insurance covered. my crown cost only 300,000W. the dentist wrote the prices down on paper for me and explained it before doing anything. it was really fast and easy and i haven't had issues since.

so having said that, i'd recommend not being too worried about your experience here. just try a few dental offices in your area (look for 치과 signs, there are a ton) and see how they receive you. if they're being too awkward, just go elsewhere.

[wsung01]

Hi all

Just wanted let you know about another English speaking dentist.

His name is Dr. Nak Sung, previously practiced in California as a general dentist for 10+ yrs before coming back to Korea.

His address is:
SEOWON DENTAL CLINIC
Gyeonggi-do Yongin-si Mapyeong-dong 625-5

If you have any questions feel free to call his office: 031-337-2875 and ask for him or you can msg me. Thanks!

[tideout]

Anyone have any experiences good or bad at Columbia Dental in Itaewon?

[West Coast Tatterdemalion]

I can recommend Columbia dental in Itaewon. I haven't been recently, but I had some major work(root canals, crowns, etc) done last year. The staff was great and they spoke excellent English. I've had no problems with any of the work that they have done. I would also highly recommend doing it here in Korea because back home it will be 2-3 times more expensive.

[tideout]

[dharma bum]

[wsung01]

he is an older dentist (~50yrs) but he just started practicing in Korea about a year ago, so probably a different dentist

[dharma bum]

ah okay, it is probably a different guy then. there was an older dentist in dongdaemun with a clinic called california dentistry 5-6 years ago. he claimed to have practiced in california for years, but the place was terrible and unsanitary. i went in there and saw the dentist and his assistant using latex gloves with holes in them, presumably from reuse (hopefully after sterilization of some kind?). i was new to the country and desperate/stupid, however, and so i went ahead and let him treat me in spite of what i saw.

he ended up putting a post in my tooth, which at the time he told me was gold and thus more expensive but better and necessary to ensure that the crown he was going to put on the tooth would work. the post, however, ended up being made of a different metal according to a later dentist. the crown the dentist put on the tooth was ill-fitting and had to be replaced because it was damaging my gums and was also somewhat unsightly. i also left the clinic damaged gums above my tooth the first time (before the crown was even put on) from where the dentist tried to force them back with his tools to make the crown fit properly. they turned purple that afternoon and remained a darker color for 4 years or so. overall, my experience with the guy was terrible.

my friend, who was actually the one who recommended the clinic to me, had a bad experience with him as well. although he thought the guy was great at first, his fillings had to be replaced a year or so down the line because they had been poorly done and were "leaking" or something similar.

it's probably a different dentist altogether that you're talking about, but i still wanted to share my experience considering the similarity in name and location just in case the other guy was still around.

[offtheoche]

Anyone have any experiences with S Plant Dental Clinic at Hak-dong?

[Kurtz]

It's best to give some details about your cavity in terms of how deep it is and what material was used before giving prices; I went for gold recently and it cost a bomb; hopefully they won't cause any more problems.