[The Korea Times] 2013-08-05(Mon)

Dentist offers free treatments for foreign students

For students studying aboard, being sick is not only painful but also a sorrowful experience having no one around to take care of them.

To help students from developing countries, Kim Dong-hyun, a dentist at Blossom Dental Clinic in Samsung-dong, southeastern Seoul, provides free dental treatments, including nerve and gum treatment as well as teeth scaling, for them.

After graduating from the undergraduate course of dentistry at Yonsei University in Korea, Kim attended the Korea Development Institute (KDI) graduate school to expand his knowledge on more diverse fields like politics and economics.

While at the graduate school, Kim met many foreign students from developing countries who were suffering from toothache.

“It was surprising that so many students from developing countries say they just want their aching teeth removed because they thought it was the best cure,” Kim said. “I felt sorry that many passionate foreign students were in pain because they didn’t know that there are better treatments or they had no money,” he continued. “So I started to help foreign students with dental pain in 2008 when I was a practicing doctor in a local hospital.”

In May, the KDI School awarded him, appraising his good will and contribution to the alumni community.

The dentist says helping students is also helpful to him. “Helping these students, I can make friends from all around the world. It is always interesting and refreshing to talk with them, especially when they are from countries, such as Maldives, which are not familiar to me,” Kim said. “I hope I can help more foreign students in the future, making good friends.”

To extend his dental expertise, Kim studied aesthetic dentistry at the New York University College of Dentistry. Aesthetic dentistry, also known as cosmetic dentistry, refers to the dental work that improves the appearance of a patient’s teeth and gums.

Kim’s specialties as an aesthetic dentist are porcelain laminate veneer and teeth straightening. He said the job is most worthwhile when patients say that they could regain confidence after the treatment.

“One day I had reconstructed the front teeth of a young patient,” Kim said. “The patient, who barely smiled before the treatment, gave me a big smile and thanked me for bringing her confidence back. It was one of the most memorable moments in my career.”