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About Town:

Going Under the Drill in Taichung

COMPASS MAGAZINE, MARCH 2000. VOL. 7 ISSUE 3 By Barbara Healy

From the street it looked civilized and clean. Brand new furniture decorated the waiting room, well groomed staff greeted patients. But, upon arrival at the dentist's chair, some finer details came into focus.

Rusting utensils, cob webs swaying from the light, and a dentist who used the word "extract" too many times in combination with an English vocabulary consisting of five-syllable medical terminology was enough to send me racing from the room ...

Most of us would have to admit that a trip to the dentist does not rank high on our list of fun and exciting things to do while on assignment in a foreign country. It is one of those maintenance routines many people save for home leave along with other routine doctor visits.

Add to it the challenge of the Chinese language for many of us, even without a dental drill humming inside our mouth, and even the thought of going becomes intimidating. Fortunately, this need not be the case in Taichung and one need not even venture to Taipei to receive professonal, high quality dental care.

The city has a good number of dentists who speak excellent English, have received their education in America, use state-of-the-art equipment, maintain sterile surroundings, and practice the latest methods used in the U.S. Many also are trained and equipped to deal with special dental-related needs or can at least provide referrals to other specialists.

Based on the tried-and-true experiences and recommendations of Taichung expatriate residents, here are just a few of the options: