Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mariaanceney]

Hi,

I need several small fillings and one really big one. My last dentist quoted me around 600,000 KRW for all the stuff because he doesn't use amalgam; he only uses resin. I research amalgam, and it doesn't seem so bad, but it appears that many dentists won't offer amalgam--I'm assuming because it's the same amount of work and less than half the price.

Does anyone know of a decent dentist in Seoul that will use amalgam?

Thanks so much!

[FastForward]

[Swampfox10mm]

They won't use it because insurances here cover it, but not other stuff. They can't make any money off of it, basically.

They will tell you some bull story about cancer, but the US Dental Association feels it's safe.

It's worth mentioning that these same Korean Dentists and their dental association fought tooth-and-nail NOT to allow flouride in the water when Noh Mu Hyun pushed for it. They cited cancer (again bull) and also that there would be 40% less cavities, minimum, which would put many of them out of business.

If that gives you any indications as to what their feelings are...

[mariaanceney]

Which dentist do you use? I'm willing to trek to Bucheon to get this done for 20,000 KRW.

[FastForward]

[PigeonFart]

A few english speaking dentists have websites in english. Look at those and maybe send an email asking them about it.

[weso1]

Amalgam is covered by insurance, so dentists are reluctant to use it. You really gotta push them, but they'll tell you it will rot your teeth further.

I've always gotten tooth color resign. It just looks so much better. When I open my mouth, all I can see is pearly white. No silver blotches here and there. And gold in your teeth is just tacky.

But $600 worth of fillings?!?! My god man, do you own a toothbrush?

[Weigookin74]

Actually, he may have had a bad dentist back home. I had some pretty deep cavities in the sides of a couple of teeth. My Korean dentist found this by looking at the x-rays. But, my Canadian dentist never found it. Cavities can take years to grow if the teeth are cared for. Anyways, he drilled deep into two teeth. Partly on the top and sides. He showed me in a mirror the brown cavity at the base when he drilled down deep. He filled it and gave me a choice of amargam or gold. Seemed porcelan was not really much of an option in my country town. Actually the dentist would have gotten it for me if I insisted. He was good and did train in America. I researched on the internet. Gold is the best as it's long lasting more than others. But the white looks better. Amargam breaks down over the years. So, I told him to use gold but to do it in a way that hides it from my smile. No one can see it. Amargam is covered by insurance and amargam is covered by the insurance. Dentist told me amargam was banned in Japan.

[Weigookin74]

Resin was around 100,000 won a tooth back in 2008 and 2009. Maybe more now.

[mariaanceney]

Actually "he" (she) did have bad dentists (I've come to believe that most dentists are bad), but I also have weak teeth. As well, $600.00 in dental care is nothing. Clearly you've been away from the U.S. for a long time because you can easily run dental bills into the thousands if you don't have good insurance.

[PaperTiger]

If you do get amalgam, do it sparingly or plan on getting rich (or at least better off) later in life. Amalgam fillings turn into rotting holes in need of a root canal in about 6+ years. The fact that you're gonna have to replace anyways should figure into how frugal you want to be now.

Trust me, root canals are more expensive and pretty much need a crown afterwards. You could probably buy a decent used car for what you might spend on crowns if you don't maintain those amalgam fillings.