Don't be afraid of the dentists or the costs

Looking after your dental health in Japan photo Tima Miroshnichenko

A mouth full of trauma

My dental ordeals began with a family dentist in Canada who recommended dental braces, called 歯列矯正具 shika kyosei gu, often abbreviated to kyosei, in Japan. The worst of it was treatment for hyperdontia, 過剰歯 kajoushi, which runs in my family. Hyperdontia means you’ve got extra teeth so the dentist extracted four of mine in an excruciating procedure when I was a pre-teen.

These extractions made way for full orthodontic treatment - upper and lower jaw “train tracks”, headgear which (thankfully I only had to wear at home), followed by permanent retainers, and finally a removable retainer to keep my upper teeth straight.

And that trauma has made me wince just thinking about dental treatment in Japan. I tense right up and have flashbacks to hours and hours in the dentist’s chair to get cleanings and cavities filled around the brackets that grazed the inside of my cheeks. But I’m also grateful for the treatment - reduced tooth crowding means fewer cavities. And even though I dread going to the dentist, I want to keep my smile for as long as I can.

Greatful for Japan's medical insurance

One of the big benefits of the social welfare system in Japan that you ought to take advantage of is dental coverage. In Japan, whether you are enrolled in National Health Insurance 国民健康保険, Kokumin Kenko Hoken, or are employed with a company and receive health Insurance 健康保険, Kenko Hoken, much of your dental care is covered. This is very different from my home country, Canada, where the national oral health insurance program only just started in 2023. 

Dental coverage

In Japan, either of the two insurance schemes cover cleaning, fillings, crowns, bridges, and dentures. For each visit, you will only pay 30% of the treatment. What’s not covered are ceramic fillings and crowns, orthodontics, implants, and whitening. The dental clinic I visited for a first treatment did a full on cleaning and repair of a chipped tooth for a reasonable cost of 4000 yen. The dentist says he can refurbish my ceramic crown for 1000 yen per visit, maybe just two treatments. Not bad.

Appointments and language issues

Unlike medical clinics which often take walk-in patients, you book an appointment with a dental clinic. I recommend asking for a cleaning to have a look at the clinic’s interior and get a sense of the staff atmosphere. Even if you’re fluent in Japanese, you might need to brush up on some specific language. JapanesePod 101 has a list of dentist-related terms and phrases with audio. The dental hygienist remarked that even Japanese patients don’t know all the jargon, so I as a Japanese as a second language speaker shouldn’t feel bad.

While in the chair, I try my best not to tense up and breathe deeply. But I still walk out of the dental clinic smiling but stiff and tired. I usually follow up with a soak at an onsen for the mental and physical health benefits.