Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
Have you heard the one about the guy who goes to a dentist for a cavity in a back tooth? The dentist-in-training working on him couldn’t reach that far back into the guy’s mouth, so he fills the tooth next to it!
Actually, it’s not funny. It’s one of numerous (presumably) true anecdotes in a story Shukan Gendai (Dec 6) headlines “Watch Out for Monster Dentists.”
“Young dentists coming into the field today,” sighs a veteran, “are incredible. You can’t take your eyes off them for a minute. You just don’t know what they’ll do next.”
It’s not just novices, Shukan Gendai warns. Older practitioners have a few quirks of their own that bear watching. Let the patient beware.
It’s hard to imagine how the youngsters survived dental school, if what the veterans say about them is true. Their alleged incompetence runs the gamut, from filling cavities to taking readable X-rays.
“Shave 1 mm off this tooth,” said the senior dentist to his apprentice. The apprentice did as she was told, and the veteran busied himself with preparing the filling. Imagine his surprise when he returned to the patient and found the apprentice had shaved the tooth down instead of across! “Maybe my communication skills are not what they could be,” he admits ruefully to Shukan Gendai. “Still, this is not a misunderstanding you would expect to arise.”
To some degree, the problem is numerical. “There are more dental clinics than convenience stores,” the magazine fumes. Many more, in fact: roughly 66,000 vs 43,000 as of 2006. Maybe it’s not surprising if all the 97,000-odd dentists nationwide are not as sharp as they might be.
If some young practitioners are less than competent, some older ones are apparently less than honest. Shukan Gendai tells of a woman in her late 60s whose financial consultant, as he conferred with her, noticed signs of uneasiness. She had a substantial nest egg of tens of millions of yen, and yet she seemed worried.
The problem, it turned out, was both dental and financial. Her teeth were bad, and her dentist, a man in his 50s, recommended implant surgery. She agreed. All her lower teeth were replaced. She was astonished at the bill: 10 million yen.
“Now,” said the woman, “he’s telling me I should have the upper teeth done too.” Don’t do it, advised the consultant -- “that’s money you’ve saved for your old age.”
Implant surgery, the magazine hears from a dentist, is not covered by health insurance and therefore priced at the dentist’s discretion, making it an easy procedure to overcharge.
© Japan Today
13 Comments
Login to comment
jonobugs
Yikes...so how do you check out dentists anyway? Ask for credentials? Doesn't seem like that would do much good unless you knew what the credentials meant. I've noticed that there seem to be a lot of dentists around too! I haven't been brave enough to go, but I know I need to get a checkup!!
BlackFlag
Jpanaese dentists are incredibly slow and will drag a treatment out for as many visits as possible. had a crown fitted this year, one tooth, it started in april and was finished in october after about 12 or 13 visits.
GW
dentists in Jpn are for the most part CRAP! Any filling(after 2-4trips per tooth, rediculous) invaribaly pops out within a year at most, alsolutely terrible work.
We moved kinda in the sticks 3yrs ago & a dentist was a short walk away so we tried them out, I was ok no cavities so they kicked me out pronto. The wife needed a tooth capped, after 3visits the next was for the cap 2days later. At that point the dentist informs her the cap isnt covered by the national health insurance & was to bring Y80,000 to pay for it, #$'&% that she took a train to her old dentist & had the work completed in 2 trips under Y5000.
Be afraid, be very afraid of dentistry in Jpn, quality is non-existant, you waste tons of time in the process, its very bad news.
Anybody have any +ve experiences, wud like to hear some if the exist
Pukey2
My dentist has been great (so far), but I've been with him for several years now. I was first introduced to him by a colleague who needed a dentist who could speak English. I go to a place affiliated with a university, so perhaps that's why it's good. The dentist actually has to attend conferences abroad and has received on-and-off training in America, too. In fact, he's been the best dentist I've had ever, and has given the best advice. My gums are a lot healthier now, not that I could see anything wrong with them before. But he really stressed the importance of daily flossing, etc, and ALWAYS explains everything he's about to do to my teeth and why. He's always asking me whether I have questions. And the first thing he always says to me is 'How's it's going?', etc. That may not be part of the job, but it's refreshing to meet someone you can have a conversation with. I've had plenty of rude doctors who just couldn't give a damn about good service. He's fixed a chipped tooth and fillings which had cracked, both without much fuss. Maybe I'm lucky - I don't know.
My ex-colleague's wife her teeth screwed by a dentist near her place and she (the dentist) wouldn't even acknowledge it. She finally went to have everything fixed at the same place as I go to.
Scrote
I'm happy with my dentist. The work is of good quality and has lasted many years and counting. You need to ask around to find out who is good and who to avoid.
Sanatan22
I recently had my teeth cleaned. After doing my lower teeth, the dentist told me to come back a week later to have my upper teeth cleaned. I told him he was nuts and I insisted to have the whole job done at once to which he reluctantly agreed. When I told this to a Japanese friend of mine, she said that she had to go four times to have her teeth cleaned: once for the left side of her upper teeth, once for the right side, same for the lower teeth. So the dentist got paid for four visits for what takes only about 15 minutes at the most. And then people wonder why there are so many dentists in Japan and why the health insurances are nearly bankrupt.
electric2004
I am happy that there is a clinic related to the place I am working. And this clinic also has 2 teeth doctors. Regular checkup every 6 months, cleaning and removing plaque once a year, and no problems. Checkup and cleaning is free. And so far, during the last 5 years, no problems. Like Pukey2, they focus on cleaning and prevention. Actually, there is an "80 year" program in Japan, which means that people shall try to keep their teeth in good condition until at least 80 years old, which is approximately the average lifespan.
BlackFlag
my dentist was the head of NichiDai Dental University, apparently one of the best in Japan but still not above trying to squeeze some dough
uberloser
Same deal Sanatan22, My missus gets the weekly return forever, and I get it done in one go. I tell the doc that I'm too busy. Apparently they stretch it out so that you don't have to keep your gob open for extended periods, but of course it's really for the money.
Loki520
I guess I should be lucky that I can go on-base for work. While it may not be the very best dentistry around, it is 1000 times better than off-base. My Japanese wife agrees.
Dennis Bauer
I got a good one now one time filled 2 teeth, i was surprised not 6 visits?
Nessie
Same thing happened to me, only when I went back for the second time, they started re-doing the lowers, which they'd already done. I thought it was a retouch, until they announced "done." The refused to believe me when I told them they'd redone the same job. They looked at my file and then started on the uppers.
The dentist said you can't have them all done all at the same time, because there were problems of dentists doing them shoddily when they did them all at once. The logic was lost to me. I think it's more of a way to get extra insurance payments, since they get paid for the procedure and for the visit. Two visits means the visit portion of the bill gets paid twice. That's my theory, anyway.
And don't even ask me abouy my wisdom teeth. 35 minutes to pull a wisdom tooth. A real gorefest.
oberst
" I guess I should be lucky that I can go on-base for work. While it may not be the very best dentistry around, it is 1000 times better than off-base. My Japanese wife agrees."
I assumed you are referring to the Air Force. Try army.