Going to the dentist in Korea

Since getting back to Korea I seem to be doing everything that I was too scared to do in my first year in Korea, most notably a trip to the dentist. To be fair, a trip to the dentist is scary at any time, particularly so in my case as it had been 9 years since my last visit. Why so long? Because I knew it was going to involve a lot of pain and money, and I'm a big believer in 'if I ignore it maybe it will go away". It didn't, as these things tend not to, so when I happened to walk past a door saying 'International Dentist' I decided it was too good to ignore. Because of course, in Korea there's the whole language thing, which I can normally bluff my way through with a somewhat dignified rendition of charades, but I thought this would be a little more difficult from a dentist's chair - although 'ow' seems to be fairly universal as it turns out.

First, let me just mention the waiting room, which is pretty much how I imagine a little waiting room somewhere in Buckingham Palace. There are three chandeliers, in a room about the size of the Library conference room, in addition to two sets of Victorian era tables and chairs, oriental rugs on the floor, and legitimately nice paintings on the wall. When you get further in it turns into something that resembles a very modern hotel, all glass and marble and statues and flowers. For some reason only women seem to work there - I've met about 6 different dentists so far, and not a single one has been a man.

None of this makes the actual dental procedures any better unfortunately - oh and by the way, you know it's bad when a dentist looks in your mouth for the first time and gasps. So it turns out that I am in need of four - four - tooth extractions, two of which will need to be replaced with implants, one root canal and crown, plus several more minor treatments. The amazing thing? The total bill is coming in under $2000. They keep apologizing for how expensive it is, and asking if I'm sure I don't want to get it done in Australia. I try not to let on just how much money I'm saving and demur vaguely.

So despite the fact that I am now booked in for a weekly trip to the dentist from now until I leave in February pretty much, I'm feeling pretty happy about my Korean dental experience :-)