7,000 won per tick of the clock

By Kim Jeong-kyoo

Now, I am wearing partial dentures. I've lost a couple of my back teeth with age. The false teeth have two metal clips or clasps geared towards helping keep the dental plate in place in the mouth. I can conveniently take it out and put it back in anytime I want.

Wearing the removable partial dentures, I had been leading a healthy, contented life until I accidentally dropped them one day last week. I bent and picked up the dental plate to find it all right. With a sigh of relief, I tried to put it into mouth, but could not. I examined it in bewilderment to find subtle damage on the clasp on the left side of the dentures. I could see it harmed and bent a bit too much.

I wanted to straighten it just a touch, but gave up. A thought sprang to mind that I should be cautious to avoid damaging it seriously. The following day, I found myself at the dental clinic where I had purchased the dentures roughly a year earlier.

I was lying down on the medical reclining chair, when I said to an approaching doctor, “Sir, I made a mistake and dropped this yesterday. I cannot put it back into my mouth.” I handed the dentures over to him before I reclined on the chair assigned to me.

“Will you lie down a bit so I can check?” the doctor said in monosyllables. He tried to put it back into my mouth before straightening the damaged clasp. It took him less than a second before he made a slight adjustment and put it back in. It was not an extraordinary feat that only an accomplished specialist could carry out. It was so simple that even a 10-year-old child could do it.

“Is it all right now?” he asked bluntly.

“No, I feel uncomfortable. It feels too loose,” I replied politely.

“Well, teeth can shift slightly. After a couple of days, you will feel it is a good fit or securely fastened automatically. Come back, though if you keep feeling physical discomfort,” he said, going away. I doubted him and felt in my bones that clearly, he was not attentive at all. I thought, though, that I might get used to the loose feeling.

Bewildered for a while, I headed for the reception desk, where a cashier charged me 20,800 won. I thought it was appalling. Given that the doctor had allotted less than 10 seconds for me, I could never understand what allowed her to ask me to pay more than 20,000 won. Besides, the doctor did nothing but straighten the clip. Also, when I complained about the dentures that did not feel slotted into my mouth, he had just walked away.

What's even more shocking, I would have paid around 70,000 won if I did not have medical insurance. In other words, the clinic yielded an unimaginable profit of at least 7,000 won per second.

I felt a stirring of anger, which turned gradually into utter fury. However, there was nothing I could do save choking back my anger and leaving the clinic.

Granted, I understand that the incident was a rare event, and other dental clinics are not doing similar deeds. I want to believe that dentists are charging reasonably for their medical services, doing their job with a clear conscience. Like other doctors, dental practitioners also take the Hippocratic Oath, don't they?

The author (kimjstar@hanmail.net) lives in a rural village near Seoul, studying and teaching golf.