I am with some of the other posters in the past who have had trouble finding a good dentist and doctor mostly because I keep moving, and it is real hit or miss out there.
Is it normal for the dentist to do a checkup and half of the cleaning (bottom or top only) in one sitting coming into exactly a 30 minutes visit for just under 4,000 yen? And so as I had just unknowingly paid for a half-cleaning they get me to schedule another visit to clean the other half of my teeth assumed to be another 4,000 yen.
Is this normal to split the cleaning in half so that they can charge for double the visits? Should I continue avoiding these places?
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My last dental cleaning and checkup was done all at once (unsure of how long it took, I’d estimate about half an hour) and was about 2000 yen.
I have heard about that but never had that issue with my dentist.
I just had mine cleaned last week. All teeth, upper and lower as well as an xray on one tooth and I was done in about 45 minutes. Total to pay was 2700 yen.
Find a new dentist and ask before booking about the cleanings and number of appointments.
Recently had an appt where I had a full examination plus xray, bottom teeth cleaned (4,000 yen)
Next appt was the top teeth cleaning, but they also cleaned the bottom again. Came out to 850.
Your next appt shouldn’t come out to 4,000. But splitting up the appt is normal, because they get paid per visit.
The timing has to do with how they can get money from national health insurance. It’s in blocks of 30 minutes. If your teeth need heavy duty cleaning, they’ll do part of it in roughly 30 minutes then ask you to come back for the next time. If they can do the whole thing in roughly 30 minutes then that’s what they will do
For just a cleaning? I have never had that happen and I have had probably 7 dentists over the past 18 years – often because of moving or just trying someone new.
When you get into multiple visits is when there is an issue to address. And what can happen also is that you go in to have something specific addressed and they start with a cleaning and maybe start addressing the issue but it take 3 to 5 visits to wrap it up.
I do cleanings like every 4 months. It’s always in and out in 30 mins.
Since the NHI does not apply to cleaning of teeth for preventive purposes, the cleaning is done under the name of *treatment* of something like periodontal disease. The NHI rules applied varies from a region to another, based on the interpretation of local authorities. In some regions performing one dental cleaning at a time is considered overmedication, thus NHI is not applicable. Splitting the process in twice is usual thing in such regions to comply with such orders.
You should have got 診療明細書, which indicates the breakdown of the charges. I assume ~1k is for the initial consultation fee (初診料), and another 1k may be for diagnosis of periodontal disease or something. You won’t be charged 4k next time I suppose.
Source: Google 「歯石除去 保険 ２回」 in Japanese
Yep, literally did xray, consultation and half-cleaning for about 3400 yen today. Will get the other half cleaned in about two weeks, which should cost less. The second appointment is usually cheaper.
Splitting into two appts is completely normal here and should not deter you from visiting the dentist again.
Just had my regular checkup today. Cleaning (everything) plus checkup and x-ray = 4,000-ish yen, took around 45mins. I have no problems with my teeth and I get it cleaned every 3 – 4 months, so the procedure is pretty quick and easy for me.
Jesus O.o I go for cleaning/checks every 2 months at my dentist here and unless they use the supersonic tool to clear plaque build up, it’s like ¥200…~¥2000 with the plaque removal 😬
But yes the time limit is a thing here, I think for insurance purposes?