Overtreatment — If You’re Worried About It
Criteria Patients Can Check For Themselves

01What Overtreatment Is — It’s Not About the Number

Overtreatment means recommending treatment broader or more expensive than what a patient’s condition actually needs. Contrary to common belief, “how many cavities were found” cannot determine whether it’s overtreatment. A thorough exam naturally finds more, including early-stage cavities, while a cursory look can find fewer.

What matters isn’t the count but three things: ① whether that treatment is needed right now, ② whether what can wait and what must be done immediately are explained separately, and ③ whether each one can be directly pointed out on imaging.

02Signs Patients Can Check

Think Twice If You See These

• A large treatment plan proposed on the first visit without a thorough diagnosis — The normal order is: exam → diagnosis explanation → plan → consent.
• “Discount if you pay today” — Most non-emergency dental treatment can wait a few days of thought. If time pressure is attached to payment rather than medicine, that’s a warning sign.
• Only one treatment option offered — Most dental issues have multiple solutions. If you haven’t heard the pros, cons, cost, and prognosis side by side, your options were limited.
• Non-covered fees aren’t disclosed, or change with each consultation
• The explanation of treatment necessity is led by consultation staff rather than the dentist — Explaining diagnosis and necessity is the responsibility of the dentist who bears medical liability.

Signs of a Trustworthy Clinic

• Explains while pointing directly to the problem area on imaging (X-ray, CT, oral photos) together with you
• Clearly separates “treat now” from “watch for now”
• Non-covered fees disclosed in advance, total cost explained before treatment
• Explains specifically what happens if untreated, including the timeline

03Seongmo Dental’s Structural Safeguards

Overtreatment is, before it’s a matter of individual conscience, a matter of clinic structure. Here are the structural safeguards Seongmo Dental has built in.

• The Director, Start to Finish — Since opening in 1998, Director Taeyun Jang has personally handled diagnosis, explanation, treatment, and aftercare. There’s no structure where a changing provider reverses a diagnosis or adds treatment.
• Multiple Treatment Plans Presented — We explain both the preservation plan and the restoration/implant plan side by side, with cost, duration, and prognosis, and the patient makes the choice.
• Diagnostic Evidence Shown with Objective Equipment — We explain while viewing low-dose 3D CT and Q-ray fluorescence analysis images together with you. You can see “this is the problem” with your own eyes.
• Non-Covered Fees Fully Disclosed (Fixed Pricing) — Itemized fees are published on our website and in-clinic, and the amount doesn’t change during consultation.
• Preservation-First Principle — “Skipping implants you don’t need comes before placing implants well.” We first review the possibility of retreatment or apicoectomy before extraction.
• Accountability for Results — A 5-year free warranty on cavity resin, a 5-year warranty on implants, and permanent digital data storage. These are promises that can only be kept by not doing unnecessary treatment.

045 Questions You Can Use at Any Dental Clinic

Feel free to save these and ask them directly during consultation. None of these are rude questions, and the better clinics welcome them.

05How to Properly Get a Second Opinion

If you’ve received a large treatment plan and aren’t sure, a second opinion is a patient’s natural right. Here’s the proper way to get one.

Seongmo Dental offers second-opinion consultations on other clinics’ plans, as well as consultations for taking over treatment interrupted at another hospital. In these cases too, our principle is to explain the premise behind the diagnostic difference rather than flatly judging the other clinic.

06If You’re Still Not Convinced — Official Channels

• Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service — “Treatment Fee Verification Request” — A post-review of whether the co-payment for covered treatment was appropriate (possible even after treatment is complete)
• Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency — Mediation for harm/disputes from medical treatment
• Korea Consumer Agency (1372) — Consumer disputes over non-covered fees, refunds, etc.
• Ministry of Health and Welfare (129) / Local Public Health Center — Suspected violations of medical law

Whichever route you take, having your receipt, detailed treatment fee statement, treatment plan, and imaging copies ready in advance makes the process smoother. A detailed statement can be issued at any clinic just by saying “please issue it for insurance claim purposes.”

07Frequently Asked Questions