Dental Report
Friday, 23 October 2009
As I said the other day, I went to the dentist yesterday.
I go to a local clinic, it's only a 10 minute walk from my apartment. One of the main reasons why I love it is that the dentist is always on time. I've been there twice now and I've always been IN the chair at the time of the appointment.
None of this waiting around for 10-15 minutes while they get ready. I love it.
So the dentist inspects my teeth and tells me that they are great and proceeds to clean & polish them. He tells me exactly what he is going to do, before he does it, in English! And he gives me a chance to rinse and spit between upper and lower teeth.
There was a black spot on the inside of my lower right 1st molar and he asked me if he could fill it, he said it will only take five minutes. And he was right!
In & out in under half an hour, on time for only ￥2490. I'd expect to pay $120 for an inspection & clean in Australia, more for a minor filling.
It's got these chunky bits in it that hurt my lips when I am brushing my teeth. What are these and why do they put them in? Thankfully I won't have to use it any more as I brought a spare pack from home.
For any Australians reading this blog, AquaFresh is EXACTLY the same product as Mcleans back home. I grew up with this brand of toothpaste and being able to have exactly the same type in Japan makes my life more comfortable.
How about you? Have you tried Clean & Clear? Have you been to a Japanese dentist? I'd love to know your thoughts.
9 comments:
YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR DENTAL CARE? shucks they rip u off there, in uk they have the nhs where its free, even if your old!
Yes, it's cheaper here in Japan than in Australia.
The national insurance pays 70% of everything. Pretty good I think, no waiting.
kool no waiting... maybe that means not enough people are going.
better than austrailian dentists anyway i've seen them! the one in 'finding nemo' nearly killed his grandaughter when he gave here a filling.
no, it means a good booking system where the dentist has enough time to take care of his patients without having to see too many patients in one day.
Actually the UK's NHS dental care isn't free - unless you're on benefits.
It's even hard to find an NHS dentist these days, as many have moved over to the private sector. So many people don't go to the dentist anymore, or just pay a bigger bill when the pain comes and they have no choice but to go private.
In 2006, charges for NHS treatment were replaced with a system of bands with a maximum charge of £198. A check-up costs £15.90 and a filling £43.60.
So that's about 2,500yen just for a check-up (on the NHS).
That sounds about right to me.
In Australia it's only people receiving government assistance get free dental care, the rest of us have to go to the private sector. Where we have to finance those BMWs & Mercs!
I think Dental care in Japan is good and affordable.
Wait, wait, a burger is almost 700, but a dental appointment *with* a filling is less than 2500?
I've had enough econ to know better than to confuse exchange rate with purchasing power, but where I come from a regular dental appointment with just a cleaning would cost at least fifty times as much as a burger and fries, and with a filling it would be more. I would have *expected* that general principle to hold true throughout the developed world. A dentist is a doctorate-level educated professional; his services should cost a lot more than a meal.
(As for the other guy, who says you were ripped off, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Dental care is *not* free in the UK, you just pay for it somewhat differently. The technical term for this is "sunk cost".)
As for AquaFresh, I'm pretty sure that's actually an American brand.
The Win7 whopper was 777￥ for the first 30, and 1400￥ for after. The Gusto King was 630￥ with fries.
￥2500 for my dental visit. The true cost of the visit is about ￥8300 but the national insurance covers 70%. Great huh?
I know I pay for it differently, but it's nice to know that if something big or small comes along the cost is shared. I pay my share and grumble never at all.
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