Korean Job Discussion Forums

wanderingsalsero · Joined: 23 Dec 2006 Location: Houston, TX.

I went to HuShu Dental clinic in Apgujeong yesterday. A little piece of my lower front incisor had come off and it looked kinda bad so.....I knew I had to have it fixed.

I was VERY pleased with the service, the quality of the work, the young(English speaking) Korean dentist. He recognized my Texas accent so obviously he'd studied int he US.

They only charged me 140,00 KW for the work which took less than an hour and was totally painless.

But I also need a crown on one of my lower, right side back teeth and he quoted my 450,000 KW on that.

Doesn't that seem a bit expensive?

I went to a Dr.Kim in Apgujeong several months ago and had a double crown on my lower, back left side. It actually straddled two teeth...somehow a piece of tooth in that 'in-between' vertical interface area had broke so......that's why it involved two teeth.

He charged me 350,000 KW for that which I thought was a bit high but, you know how it is when you're already in the chair and you want the problem solved and they say, "It's....so and so........do you want me to do it?"

Point is......even though he was a nice guy and the work seems to be good quality (gold), I did think he was just a tad 'rough' (e.g. he didn't use any topical anesthetic before the injection).

That's why I shopped this more recent problem and wound up at HuShu (from an ad in Seoul Travel and Culture Magazine). I liked their work but they just seem too expensive for the bigger job of the crown.

I haven't priced this recent, new crown problem with my previous dentist, that Dr.Kim guy, in Gangnam so I don't know if he'd charge 350K or more, or less. Nor have I priced it with anybody else although I think I might try to get another consultation with a different dentist this weekend in Seoul (if I can schedule with somebody good).

But...does anybody have idea of what the average crown is going for around Seoul nowadays. And can you recommend any good dentists?

Best regards,
Art
010 5822 2277

Robot_Teacher · Joined: 18 Feb 2009 Location: Robotting Around the World

Did you go to the Hollywood of Korea?

wanderingsalsero · Joined: 23 Dec 2006 Location: Houston, TX.

No....

I knew it wouldn't be super-cheap. Obviously they make enough money to advertise. I saw them on a double page spread in Seoul Magazine.

I actually wa surprised that this first thing they did was so cheap.....I was expecting possibly a more inflated price.

So I was very happy with that.

Now.....I understand that working on those larger, harder to access back teeth is more difficult. I just think 450K is a bit off scale.

Art

bassexpander · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: Someplace you'd rather be.

I paid about 350,000 to 400,000 each for mine at the Chicago dental clinic in Hannam (now moved) about 4 years ago. Gold costs have gone up.

I had 3 done. Sad

Korea really destroys your teeth, because there is no flouride in the water and many of the toothpastes do not have flouride. We now buy Amway toothpaste from auction.co.kr, and it does a good job. It also has .22 or .24 flouride in it. I was using the Perioe Cavity Care Korean toothpaste (which has flouride) but it turned my teeth yellow. Too much/poor quality flouride will yellow your teeth.

Interestingly, dentists have fought the Korean gov't (namely Noh when he was president) because they don't want flouride put in the water. That will hurt their business.

Ok, cue the Australians and South Africans who are violently anti-flouride. They always seem to appear after I post such info.

dharma bum · Joined: 15 Jun 2004

the price might be a little inflated but not outrageously so IMHO. crowns in general can be quite expensive - especially if they're made by a good lab. i'd say you might get one 100,000 won or so cheaper at some of the less prestigious places, but i personally would prefer quality over economy when it comes to my teeth (which, of course, assumes that hushu is going to give you a quality crown).

NightSky · Joined: 19 Apr 2005

at the clinic I go to, you have the option to choose within a price range of about 200-400 per crown. ask to see what kinds they have and ask what each one is priced at. of course they will try to sell you the most expensive and claim that it is the best, but you do have the choice to go with the cheaper ones.

egrog1717 · Joined: 12 Mar 2008

Hahahahaha...

Sorry, had to laugh...

I had 10 crowns put on in Canada a number of years ago (part of a government sponcered research program at the Hospital for Sick Kids... They paid 90% of whatever my parents' insurance wouldn't cover Very Happy

)

$1500 a crown (porcelain).... So no, I wouldn't say that 350-400k (as long as the job was well done) is too much... But that's just me Razz

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

chris_J2 · Joined: 17 Apr 2006 Location: From Brisbane, Au.

Cerriowen · Joined: 03 Jun 2006 Location: Pocheon

Well yea, in the USA it'd be around 2,000 or so... but we're not talking the white crowns. Just your standard gold crowns. They're usually 350k including work here.

hogwonguy1979 · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: the racoon den

you can always go to bangkok if you want it cheaper

according to my cousin who is the office manager for a dental practice in florida, $300-400 is a downright steal for a crown. it would cost double that in the states WITH good dental insurance. her boss was also impressed with the quality of the work done on my half-dozen or so crowns

chris_J2 · Joined: 17 Apr 2006 Location: From Brisbane, Au.

I got emergency dental work done on a collapsed filling in Chiang Mai, Thailand, & the Thai dentist had trained in Melbourne, Australia. This was 9 or 10 years ago, & the filling was complicated, with many facets. I still have it today. My brother in law also got dental work done in Bkk,Thailand, early last year, & so far, no problems.

jdog2050 · Joined: 17 Dec 2006

Xuanzang · Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Location: Sadang

Really Chicago moved? I saw the giant sign just today right next to Shinhan and KFC. Maybe he`s got 2 branches going.

Recommended dentists: NOT Park Eun ju`s clinic in Hannam. The dental assistant was much too rough for my likening. Made my inner lip bleed with her rough hands.

I`ve heard good things about Seo Hong seok`s clinic near the UN village but I got lost today trying to find it.

moosehead · Joined: 05 May 2007

not sure if this is hijacking the thread or not - if so I'm sorry - I have some kind of immunity to tooth decay and even tho I'm middle aged I've only needed one root canal and some minor very small cavities filled so when it comes to dental work I'm pretty much a total novice, yes, it's good for my mouth but maybe not for my pocketbook Sad

I don't want to be taken advantage of!

but now I have a tooth that hurts but no cavity - it doesn't hurt underneath like when I had the abscessed tooth (the 1 root canal I had done) - does anyone know what this might mean?

I made an appt with the one mentioned above - in Hannam dong - is that not good?