Author
Seo Jae-eun
Reporter
Writes about what dental care costs and what insurance covers. Why the same treatment comes to a different number, and how far the coverage goes. Hopes it helps the people who worry about the bill before anything else.
Articles written 35
Does a Baby Tooth Need a Crown After Root Canal Treatment?
Explains why dentists recommend a crown after a baby tooth receives root canal treatment (pulp therapy), and the cases, based on the extent of tooth damage, where a crown is not always necessary.
4 min read
Attack on Dubai-Bound Flight: A Dentist's First Aid Saved the Captain's Life
When a copilot stabbed the captain on a flight from Dubai to Israel, a passenger who happened to be a dentist stayed by the badly bleeding captain's side and helped save his life. With help from a plumber among the passengers and foreign pilots on board, the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
3 min read
How Are Resin, Inlay, and Crown Chosen for Cavity Treatment?
In cavity treatment, resin, inlay, and crown are recommended differently because the right restoration method depends on how much tooth structure has been lost and whether the chewing-surface cusps still have enough strength to withstand biting force.
5 min read
Dyson's 750,000-Won AI Toothbrush Sold Out on Preorder Day in Korea, Then Vanished From US Stores Over a Defect
Dyson's 750,000-won AI toothbrush, the CameraJet, sold out on its first day of preorders in Korea, only to disappear from US stores soon after amid defect reports. Dyson has now said a component issue in one early production batch could let water seep into the device. Early Korean buyers aren't entirely in the clear either, though no domestic cases have surfaced so far.
3 min read
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan to Buy Spanish Dental Chain for 1.75 Trillion Won
Canada's Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is acquiring Spanish dental chain Donte Group for about 1.75 trillion won, raising roughly 875 billion won in debt financing. The pension fund previously bought U.S. chain Heartland Dental in 2012. We look at how this deal contrasts with debt-laden Aspen Dental Group, and how Korea's dental market differs.
3 min read
Dental Erosion
Dental erosion is irreversible damage in which enamel and dentin dissolve after direct contact with acid, from acidic drinks or stomach acid reflux, rather than from bacteria. This article explains how to tell the causes apart and how to manage the condition to slow its progression.
2 min read
Abfraction
Abfraction is a condition in which abnormal chewing forces flex a tooth, creating a wedge-shaped defect where the tooth meets the gum. This article covers its causes, symptoms, and the criteria for choosing restorative materials.
3 min read
Periodontitis: Gum Bacteria That Invaded the Heart Worsened Heart Attacks
In a mouse model combining periodontitis and myocardial infarction, five species of gum bacteria were found to travel through gaps in damaged blood vessels to reach the heart, where they recruited inflammatory cells. A comparison of 72 heart attack patients also showed lower heart function and higher levels of related blood markers in those with periodontitis.
3 min read
Tooth Whitening: A Wireless Magnetic-Field Catalyst Cuts the Time
Catalyst technology that triggers tooth-whitening reactions has moved from light and vibration to temperature, and now to magnetic fields. This article covers a 2026 study that added a material converting magnetic fields into electricity to a whitening gel to trigger the catalytic reaction wirelessly, alongside earlier piezocatalysis and pyrocatalysis research.
3 min read
Pulp Necrosis (Nerve Necrosis)
Pulp necrosis occurs when blood flow to the tooth's nerve (pulp) is cut off and the tissue dies; the disappearance of pain can actually be a sign that the condition is progressing. This article explains the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment, along with the problems that can develop at the root tip if left untreated.
4 min read
Mandibular Advancement Devices: Longer Sensor-Measured Wear Time Brought Bigger Dental Side Effects
This article covers a study that embedded a sensor in a mandibular advancement device used for sleep apnea to objectively measure wear time, then precisely superimposed pre- and post-treatment intraoral scans to measure tooth movement. The longer the wear time, and depending on jaw shape, the size of the dental side effects varied.
3 min read
What's the Difference Between Dental Sedation and General Anesthesia?
What's commonly called sedation dentistry, or conscious sedation, keeps you awake and breathing on your own, while general anesthesia removes both consciousness and breathing, requiring artificial ventilation. This explains the difference between the two and the pre-procedure evaluation involved.
5 min read
Sjögren's Mouse Trial: Lab-Grown Salivary Gland Organoids Restore Saliva Flow
Transplanting human salivary gland organoids grown without animal-derived components into Sjögren's syndrome mice increased saliva output. Here is how building a whole new gland tissue works, and where its limits lie.
3 min read
When Root Canal Files Fracture, the Culprit Was Temperature
Nickel-titanium file fracture inside the root canal is not a rare complication during root canal treatment. A recent study found that a cryo-instrumentation technique, cooling both the file surface and the canal interior to 2°C during rotation, substantially increased file durability and let the file follow the shape of curved canals more accurately, all while cutting efficiency stayed the same.
4 min read
In Apical Surgery, Navigation Guides the Path Once Left to Hand Feel
This article explains the technologies that use CBCT data to plan in advance or guide in real time the instrument's approach path in apical surgery (a path once judged by the surgeon's hand feel), dividing them into three groups: static guides, dynamic navigation systems, and robot-assisted surgery.
5 min read
If a Tooth That Had a Root Canal Hurts Again, Can It Be Retreated?
If pain returns in a tooth that has already had root canal treatment, retreatment may be an option depending on the cause. This explains the criteria that distinguish reinfection from root fracture.
4 min read
Can a Single X-ray Tell If a Tooth Root Is Fractured?
After a dental injury, a single X-ray often can't confirm whether a tooth root is fractured. This explains why an oblique fracture line can be invisible depending on the shooting angle, and why treatment differs based on tooth mobility and the fracture's location.
3 min read
Food Keeps Getting Stuck Between My Teeth and It's Sensitive: Is It a Cavity?
Food that keeps getting stuck between the teeth and sensitivity at that spot may come from gum inflammation caused by an open contact or a plunger cusp, or from interproximal caries that is hard to see. This explains the conditions that distinguish the cause and how to check for it.
4 min read
Why Does Root Canal Treatment Sometimes Take One or Two Visits, and Sometimes Many?
Explains why root canal treatment sometimes finishes in a single visit and other times requires several, based on the condition of the pulp and the anatomical complexity of the root canals. Also covers why the restorative visits that follow, such as fitting a crown, are a separate stage from the root canal treatment itself.
5 min read
How Are Local Anesthesia and Sedation Used When Removing a Wisdom Tooth?
Local anesthesia used when removing a wisdom tooth blocks pain, while sedation reduces anxiety. This explains why breathing must be monitored more closely as sedation gets deeper.
4 min read