My wife is to have surgery to fix her overbite soon and she's wondering if there is orthodontists in Japan that she can go to after the surgery for the folow up appointments. I'm pretty sure a specialist in town is going to be an option so how woud that work as far as communicating with her orthodonitist in the states and one in Japan.

The hospital will provide a list of dentists in the area and a "rating" of their English. You can also go by word of mouth references. Some one recently posted a link to a dentist out in Miura who's American trained. I'm not sure if she did orthodontics... bottom line, your wife should not have any issue finding dental care. Drive down any road and you will see dentists everywhere. As far as communications, bring some copies of her records for your use.

That's my plan for now. Do you have a number or the website for the hospital on base to get the information ahead of time so that we can pan as much as we can now rather than at last minute?

I would check out the Kanagawa Dental College. My recent experience there was very positive, even though you will be seen in "Open Bay" dentist chairs. A couple of the doctors do speak English and are very kind and patient. They don't rush through your appointments waiting to punch out at 1600.

I forgot to mention that they take VISA credit cards (no others) and they are open Saturdays, I believe just in the morning. There is no better pool of dentists in this country in one spot, and this place is a major, major, dental operation with hundreds of highly qualified dentists in all specialties. I researched the place on-line and discovered that it used to be in Tokyo (it was that important) and accepted the first Japanese female dental student.

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@Mike - Thanks for the info. Just hearing that they will not rush you out of the door at 1600 to leave will be enough for my wife to jump for joy. She's just about had it with the medical in Whidbey Island. They are notorious for not listening to any of their patients, be them active duty, retired, or spouses.

@Walter - The Dental College is worth looking into. You might want to Google the place (Kanagawa Dental College) before you make up your mind. There's a little bit of a hastle getting registered at the front desk, but they're patient here with the foreigners, so somebody will help you eventually. I went for a routine cleaning last week, had 3 p.m. appointment, got seen at 3:15 and didn't walk out the door until 5 p.m. The doctor was very patient, spoke enough English, and wasn't looking at his watch waiting to punch out and head over to the gym or go jogging. They even sold me a special toothbrush which is not available at the NEX for about $3. If I would have had that toothbrush (Ultra Soft), I could have prevented my dental problems years ago.

I will definitely look into it. I looked them up on google and they seem alright. I sent it to my wife to look at since she has a bit more free time to look into things.