I’m so tired of being given the run-around when it comes to dental work. I’ve easily spent over ¥300k worth of ‘procedures’ spanning across five seperate appointments just for a single root canal. no cleaning, no whitening, just one simple root canal. They had insisted on putting in a temporary crown to “prep” for the second temporary crown while I wait 3 extra days for the temporary permanent crown before selecting a final permanent crown. 🤨
I’m finding that every “English speaking” dentist I have seen in Tokyo take advantage of you and will do as little as possible in one appointment so they can trap you into to coming in over and over again. They attach all sorts of hidden costs and unnecessary procedures, or will try to sell you on a “better filling” for an extra ¥100k which is totally bogus and when you politely decline the more expensive option, they roll their eyes as if you’re being a total cheapskate for only giving them half of your monthly wages to repair A SINGLE TOOTH.
The whole process is maddening and I would rather pull all my teeth out before being robbed by another dentist.
Please help, I have been waiting a while to have a few procedures done but it has been one heck of a journey just trying to find a dentist in Tokyo who isn’t a complete crook.
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Ha, it’s almost like I know that dentist you’re talking about.
> do as little as possible in one appointment so they can trap you into to coming in over and over again
From reading posts on the sub here, I thought that was how healthcare appointments generally work in Japan?
Not trying to defend your dentist but that is normal I think
I am just trying a new dentist who seem to be over the top in terms of tests / X-rays etc.
I broke my tooth, but that was cleared up in two appointments.
They seem very OTT with the need for my (Japanese) girlfriend to be there.
However, the clinic is very nice, work done is good, and I use Hoken and it costs me very little.
I use Motoazabu Hills Dental Clinic. Dentist trained in America. I’ve never done more than a cleaning, so I can’t vouch for other procedures, but I’ve always had a good experience.
The multiple appointments is usual in my experience, but the fees are not. Do you not have insurance? I’ve had several root canals and have generally paid about ¥10,000 to ¥20,000 out of pocket, depending on the number of appointments.
Unfortunately the way health insurance works in Japan isthat any appointment over 1hour will not be covered. IE youll be paying full price for it yourself. Most dentists therefore cap their work to an hour for each patient to fall into that window and not overburden the patient. Were talking about 30% of the cost vs 100% of the cost here.
Without knowing how damaged your tooth is, it could be overly expensive, or just what its gonna cost unfortunately.
You could however, try going to another dentist with a Japanese speaking person… The market for English speaking healthcare professionals is small to say the least, and because of that they offer a service which costs a premium over other places.
Nishi-Kasai Wakaba Dentist. He’s an incredible dentist and the entire staff are kind to foreigners even though they don’t speak much English. Just go in with a few words memorized and let them do their stuff.
All dentists in Japan will likely have three appointments. One for inspection. One for treatment. One for cleaning. Cleaning is optional. But they typically separate inspections and treatment. I’ve had reconstructions etc all done in one treatment session. Once it got spread to two sessions, but it was reasonable as they had to make the molds etc.
Oh and price wise it’s incredibly cheap. Surprisingly so. I’ve had fillings too and he gave me the cheap option and said if it breaks or you have issues, come back and we’ll just either repair it or go for the more premium options. I agreed and it’s been 2 years string so far, on an incisor. They inspect it each time I go back for cleaning (every 6 months or so).
You should not be paying that much if you have insurance
Keio University Hospital in Shinanomachi. Satoshi Morikawa is the man. Studied in the US, has a great attitude. He has a strong accent but he’s great. I’m so glad I started treatment with him; he discovered a huge mistake a previous quack dentist had made and now it’s almost completely undone.
2000% English fee? I had a pre-molar die on me for unknown reasons. The dentist said he would be taking it slow and also be doing an “old style” root canal, whatever that means. Anyway, he did it over 5 sessions or so, didn’t need any freezing, and it cost less than ¥15000 total out of pocket. He did dental training in san diego and could speak english though he was pretty rusty. I’m not in tokyo so that doesn’t really help you but to put the costs into perspective.
Might just wanna shop around for a dentist that can speak a little English rather than one that advertises they’re an English-speaking dentist. You shouldn’t be paying that much (though the visit frequency is normal).
Last year I think I went to the dentist 8 times including visits for a crown. The absolute most expensive part of the procedure was choosing the material for the crown, which was the silver metal (5,000), or porcelain (not covered by insurance, 50,000). Every other visit I was leaving paying anywhere between 1,000 and 2,500 yen.
The dentist is trying to save you money. NHI only covers a short appointment – IIRC 30 minutes. So they break the procedures up over multiple appointments so you don’t have to start paying full price for their services at the 30 minutes mark.