In North Korea, if you have gold dental work,it doesn't actually belong to you - the government legally owns every gold crown, filling, and implant in citizens' mouths.
When North Koreans die, families are required by law to remove all gold dental work before burial and surrender it to state officials.Burying someone with their gold teeth intact is considered theft of government property.
There's an entire government department called the "Precious Metal Recovery Division" that tracks dental gold throughout the country. They maintain records of who has gold dental work and conduct periodic inspections to ensure state property remains accounted for.
Families who fail to surrender dental gold face severe penalties including imprisonment. The law treats gold teeth the same as stealing gold barsfrom the national treasury. Even small fillings are considered valuable state assets.
The policy extends to living citizens. If you need gold dental work, the state provides itbutretains permanent ownership. You're essentially borrowing your own teeth from the government.
Border guards specifically check for people trying to leave the country with gold dental work. Defectors are forced to have gold teeth removedbefore crossing, as taking state-owned gold across borders is considered smuggling.
The system creates a bizarre underground economy. Some families try to hide dental gold by having it removed and replaced with cheaper materials before death, but government inspectors are trained to detect signsofrecent dental work.
Dentists are required to report all gold dental procedures to authorities and face prosecution if they fail to document state-owned dental work. The profession operatesunderconstant government surveillance.
That gold crown in your mouth might seem personal and private, but in North Korea, even your teeth belong to the state.