photo by Dr. Partha Sarathi Sahana
You know foreign residents who reside in Japan for a certain period of time have to enroll in National Health Insurance and pay insurance tax. National Health Insurance covers wide range of medical treatments and patients bear only 30% of their medical costs. The brightest side of this system is that general dental treatments are also covered. Dental cares are often excluded from public insurance coverage in many other countries and patients have to pay a lot just for a tooth extraction. But in Japan, you don’t have to worry about costs of dental cares most of the time. Just note that there are some exclusions. So, let’s see what dental treatments are covered by insurance and what are not.
Make a booking before visiting
Although most hospitals and clinics in Japan accept visitors on walk-in basis, it is strongly recommended to make an appointment when you go to see a dentist as dental treatments generally take some time. Appointments are normally made over the phone, but some dentists have online booking system. At a dentist’s clinic, you will go through the following steps.
- Present your medical insurance card at the reception and fill the medical interview sheet
- Wait in the waiting area until your name is called
- Once you are called in, consult your situation with the dentist
- After the examination, wait in the waiting area again
- Make a payment at the reception and receive a payment receipt, medical certificate and prescription
*Not limited to dental clinics, it is very important to clarify your medical conditions such as medical history, current medications and allergy when you visit medical practices for the first time.
Dental cares covered by National Health Insurance and costs
As a general rule, public insurance systems only cover medical treatments in order for curing of symptoms. Therefore all dental treatments to fix decayed teeth and gum diseases are covered by medical insurance. On the other hand, treatments for cosmetic purpose are excluded from insurance coverage. The followings are examples of dental treatment covered by insurance and approximate costs.
- Dental examination with a subjective symptom: 3000yen
- Treatment for a decayed tooth (minor symptom): 1500 to 3000yen
- Treatment for a decayed tooth (moderate symptom): 2000 to 10000yen
- Treatment for a decayed tooth (heavy symptom): 7000 to 20000yen, plus consultation fees on every visit
- Wisdom tooth extraction (erupting straight): 1500 to 3000yen
- Wisdom tooth extraction (mildly impacted): 2500 to 4000yen
- Basic treatment for gum diseases: from 3000yen (depending on the number of visits required)
*In addition to these treatments, dentures are covered by insurance.
Dental treatments excluded from insurance coverage
The following cosmetic dental treatments are categorized as “free medical cares”. Medical expenses of such treatments are decided by each clinic.
- Orthodontics (except for special cases such as a jaw abnormality)
- Teeth whitening
- Ceramic and gold fillings or coating
- Teeth cleaning for cosmetic purpose
Is teeth cleaning covered by insurance?
As you know, dental Caries is an irreversible disease. Dental treatments are not to bring a decayed tooth to its original statement. As prevention matters for your dental health, dental check-up and teeth cleaning is one of the most demanded treatments in dental clinics. But are they covered by health insurance? Well, that depends on whether you want to have these treatments are for prevention or medical care. If you already have symptoms of bad tooth or gum disease, check-up and teeth cleaning can be covered by insurance. If it is simply to prevent dental disease, no insurance will apply. However, most adults have minor dental trouble such as tartar build around teeth or deep periodontal pockets. Most dental clinics offer dental cleaning and polishing after treatment of these minor dental troubles.
Clean teeth!
While patients bear high dental care costs in many other countries, you can have dental treatments for rather low amount in Japan. Sometimes you are advised to see a specialist for an advanced treatment in difficult cases such as a complicated extraction of wisdom tooth, and costs of specialists are covered by insurance most of the time. Therefore, dental treatments are not as expensive in Japan as you may have expected. When it comes to treatments of a bad tooth, the sooner is always the better. If you have any trouble with your tooth, visit your nearest dental clinic.
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