I went to the dentist last week for a routine cleaning. Settling into the dental chair, the contrast between what I saw around me in Dr. Carver’s office and what The Velvet Rocket staff observed in a North Korean dental office during our recent visit there, prompted me to decide that I would not wish to experience a dental emergency in North Korea.
A broad view of the North Korean dental studio we visited:
Ready and waiting for a patient… You?
A dentist in the studio at work on a patient:
I was curious about the dental tools that were being utilized and took these closeups of the instrument trays:
The cigarette lighter mixed in with the dental instruments doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, does it? Or does it?
This machine for dental x-rays was located on the wall behind me when I was taking the pictures of the dental office… I don’t know if it is functional or not:
Next to the x-ray was this inspirational poster on proper dental hygiene for North Koreans… Good stuff, huh?
Keep in mind that this is the flagship dental studio in North Korea that they show off to the foreigners. So, one does wonder what might be found elsewhere in Pyongyang, let alone out in the countryside.
The Velvet Rocket 
To be honest it’s a lot better than what I had expected…
Ha, well, it certainly shouldn’t be considered a representative of what the rest of North Korea has in the way of dental care. This is the jewel in the crown.
A bit archaic but still acceptable. I would prefer being a dental patient rather than giving birth to my child there.
Neither serendipity, nor impulse, nor pure need has ever taken me to a dentists’ office in a decidedly foreign country. Does that mean there’s something wrong with me?
Pingback: Make Your Teeth Happier With These Tips | Write-up Gathering
hi i am DMD
answers for criticism :)
yes the unit is old and Korean made.but i have seen worse.
the Xray old but looks if not fancy then sufficient. if westerner Xray manufacturer didn’t have to compete with others he would make it look the same.simple.
a tube with the small cathode ray tube being hit by Electrons in the back…
and the Cigarette lighter.is to heat stuff. like wax, or when he does a root canal treatment (its a root canal treatment “Kit” in the photo),he lights a colloquial with which he heats a cureta to slice the Gucha perka with witch he fills the canals.
it costs him 0.5 $ ,while mine that is electrical cost me about 85$. When mine will die on me, i will buy a lighter :) or matches.
the poster well:
brash and floss
Gigngivitis
and compact wisdom tooth.
what else do you need?
sterile it looks that way. the brown on the tools means it been sterilized many times and its old ( Appears after 3-5 years in use even on stainless-still).but it looks functional.
dont see nothing to be scared about. if you go for first aid he’ll do the minimum needed to relive you of your pain and free you to blessed treatment in you country :)
good day.
DDS here.
It most definitely does not look sterile. The amount of cross contamination caused by these tray setups is disgusting. Non-autoclavable medicine containers right next to instruments covered in bodily fluids. With the amount of crust on those glass lids, when do you think they were last cleaned? It’s one big microbe carousel from one mouth to the next.
Regarding the instruments, “sterilized many times” is an assumption, we don’t know that. Look at the dirty styrofoam blocks where they keep their endo files. Styrofoam isn’t autoclavable and clearly these blocks have been in use for a while. Even if the files were sterilized, as soon as they touch the block, they are dirty again. Microbe carousel.
There is a reason rusty old instruments get thrown away. The surfaces become porous and won’t sterilize properly.
The flip flops on bare feet that have nail fungus (easily transmissible on contact and can live on surfaces for weeks). The halfway undone mask. The amount of dust an debris on surfaces that could have been cleaned with little effort and almost no cost. It all shows a lack of discipline and standards.
If you go to that clinic, there is a realistic chance you might walk away with TB or hepatitis.
The lighter is used during root canal treatment. Although I don’t use the regular BIC lighter, a flame is necessary.
It reminds me of that song from sesame street, “one of these things doesn’t belong here”. Some of the tools are rusty & you can see many tools that aren’t sanitized.
Ha, well, none of us rushed to volunteer to try out the North Korean dentists!
The materials shown, and possible the lighter as well are probably for an endodontic procedure (root canal).