HITOMI DENTAL: English Speaking Dentists in Tokyo Saved My Gums!

When I started living in Japan, I noticed that my teeth were getting more sensitive. At first, I thought it was only my imagination, but my foreign friends said that they feel that their teeth felt weaker and not clean enough whenever they use Japanese toothpaste!

I then started to ask my great friend Google-san.

It turns out that Japanese toothpaste has less fluoride compared to most countries like in the Philippines, France, etc. Despite that info, I still kept using Japanese toothpaste, because it was convenient and it’s not very common to see foreign brands of toothpaste in typical supermarkets or drugstores here in Japan.

My Gums Started Bleeding

I’ve never had any problems with my teeth and dentists usually praise them because they are perfectly aligned. However, after 3 years of living in Japan, my gums started bleeding and my wisdom tooth was hurting very badly.

I then had a check-up in a dental clinic close to my apartment―I was living in Yamagata during this time. My Japanese teacher went with me, so she could translate because no one in the clinic spoke English and my Japanese was not really good, especially when it comes to medical terms.

I was given some medicine and after that my tooth stopped hurting―thank you, Lord! However, the dentist told me that my gums have started to recede, hence it was bleeding! I was quite disappointed and sad, but all I could do was accept it. The damage was done.

More Sessions

Because of the Japanese health insurance, the dentist couldn’t do one session and fix my gums. It was divided into short sessions, so I kept coming back every week. Despite changing my brushing routine and going to the dentist my gums were STILL BLEEDING! I was getting really stressed-out and depressed because of it.

That dental clinic wasn’t able to heal my gums until I moved to Kanto area.

Discovering Hitomi Dental

I finally settled in my new home, somewhere in Kanto, but my gums were still deteriorating. It took me almost 2 months to find Hitomi Dental and that’s all thanks to the great reviews in Gaijinpot forum.

The reason I picked this clinic is because it’s in Tokyo and not that far from where I live; plus, the dentists there have good English skills. In addition, you don’t have to split your sessions. You can just do it in one go! I then sent them an email to inquire and thankfully they quickly responded and scheduled my appointment.

NOTE: Since you are doing 1 session, THIS IS NOT COVERED BY THE JAPANESE INSURANCE. However, you can choose to split it if you want, so your insurance will cover it. According to the dentist, it’s just how the Japanese system works.

It was around 10,000 - 11,000 yen. It might be pricey, but the fee for my sessions, which was covered by the insurance, piled up and it was more expensive. It didn’t even heal my gums and it was time-consuming. I'd rather spend 11,000 yen as long as my gums will go back to normal as soon as possible.

Finally, it Stopped!

When I finished my session, my gums stopped bleeding! However, I still need to go back there once every 6 months to monitor my gums to see if it stops receding.

The dentists there are very friendly and they made me feel less scared to go to the dentist. I highly recommend their services, especially if you have limited Japanese or you’re just more comfortable expressing your dental woes in English.

Moreover, in my opinion, Hitomi Dental understands the needs of foreign patients as and I am very glad that there is a clinic like this (in Japan) that makes ‘Gaijins’ very comfortable dealing with health problems.

How about you? What are your medical horror/ success stories in Japan?

DEETS for Hitomi Dental

Edogawabashi Office

Asahi Sekiguchi Mansion 1f 1-24-6 Sekiguchi, Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 112-0014

Akasaka Office

Akasaka Royal Plaza 2F 2-13-8 Akasaka, Minato-ku Tokyo 107-0052

Website: https://www.hitomidental.com/