The dentist and someone else (an assistant maybe?) looked in my mouth, poked a few places (OUCH!!), and then sent me off for an xray. The woman who did the xray jammed the little piece of film in my mouth really hard! I've never had an xray hurt before. Then back to the chair. The dentist looked at the xray, poked my tooth a few more times (OUCH again!), and told me he was giving me a prescription. If that doesn't clear up the problem, then "maybe root canal." WHAT?! He's gotta be kidding! I'm counting on this prescription to take care of things. Otherwise, it's second opinion time for me.
I stopped at the registration desk to pay before I left. The woman said "Sam chon o bek won," which means 3,500 won (about $4). I thought I must have misunderstood her and handed her 35,000 won (about $40). She laughed and handed me back the three 10,000 won bills and change. So my walk-in visit to the dentist, including an xray was about $4.
Then I headed to the pharmacy across the street to fill my prescription. This is what I was given, with verbal instructions on how to take them:
It cost about $2 to get the prescription filled. The writing on the red stuff says "Gargle. Do not eat." I think it's a mouthwash, so I've been swishing it in my mouth and not gargling it. I tried to ask the pharmacist, but she didn't know the difference between "swish" and "gargle." The pill packets just have the name and phone number of the pharmacy on them. No drug names, no directions. It's a little disconcerting. I like to know what I'm taking and why! So I get to take one of these little mystery packets three times a day until Thursday and then go back to the dentist if it's not better for "maybe root canal." I'm going home in December. I think I might try to tough it out until I can see a dentist without the language barrier.
2 comments:
I have an eye infection right now. It's the same eye infection I had about 2 years ago and the same infection Floppy had last July.
When I discovered my eye infection 2 years ago I had to go to the doctor pay $30 and then pay $15 for the eye drops.
Last July we went into a pharmacy in Spain and told the lady that Floppy had an ojo rojo and she gaves us eye drops for 3 euros.
I went to the pharmacy last night and got eye drops for 25 pesos.
The last two visits were cheap! Just like your dentist office!
Well, I hope you don't have to have a "maybe root canal" OUCH!
Hi Jane! It's good to hear from you. I am certainly amazed at how inexpensive healthcare is here in Korea, especially since the quality is not much different from the United States. On the other hand, I'd sure be willing to pay a little more to see a dentist, doctor, pharmacist, etc. that I can communicate with. My tooth still hurts, but I think I'm opting out of "maybe root canal" at least until I go home in December and can get a second opinion.
Post a Comment