Going to Thailand for Cheaper Dental Procedures?

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  retiredfeline on 21/09/2016 - 21:42

  +2

  Sex Change procedures but I am not interested in one of those at the moment

  But maybe later? But seriously I'm also interested in the answers that are posted. About dental procedures, that is.

  • 

    Pharos5 on 22/09/2016 - 00:13

    Good to keep an open mind I guess.

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  Dollarsandsense on 21/09/2016 - 21:50

  +2

  My now wife and I were living/travelling in Hanoi, Vietnam and she developed "sudden acute pain" caused by her wisdom teeth. We went to an American run clinic that was extremely good. The cost was about half that of Aussie and because it was "sudden accute pain" It was also covered by our travel insurance to remove two wisdom teeth :-)

  It was a delicate procedure as the roots were extremely close to her nerves, they took a lot of care and did a good job.

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 21/09/2016 - 21:53

    +1

    Ah I "get it". so far not in pain, more preemptive planning, but maybe it might "suddenly" become in pain while I am there, who knows. Do you remember the name of the clinic? I have actually heard Vietnam before for Dental. Maybe go to Vietnam instead and get lucky.

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  2jzzzz on 21/09/2016 - 22:02

  Isn't Korea meant to be the go to place for dental?

  • 

    altomic on 21/09/2016 - 22:07

    plastic/cosmetic surgery . but everything is done there.

    mrs altomic had a keloid scar reduction in Seoul when we were there on holiday 13 years ago.

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  dandandan on 21/09/2016 - 22:22

  +2

  I had the first part of a Dental implant done in March in Bangkok Thailand and having the final Crown part added in October in a few weeks time. I lost a tooth playing Rugby, with a dentist mouthguard! and had to wait until finished playing to get an implant. I went to get the implant here and the gap where the missing tooth was had closed enough to make an implant not suitable straight away, even though I had a fake denture tooth the teeth had started to move behind it and the dentist also said I had an overbite!. I did not do anything at first as the dentist I saw said I would need braces. 5 years later, so last year, I decided to sort it out and I was able to get invisalign treatment here which was a relief over braces. So I had to do Invisalign here for 9 months first to make the gap wider and correct the overbite. That was $6,500, it all worked and when it came time for the implant the dentist said it would be $6,500 plus another $750 for sedation surgery. I thought bugger that I am going to Thailand or Indonesia etc. I did some research and decided on the Bangkok International Dental Clinic (BIDC). I had a USA trained dental surgeon that is an Assist Professor with 15+ years experience perform the procedure and all went well for me. They give you antibiotics so I got no infection, it was tender for a couple of days but good after that and the stitches came out by themselves about 4 weeks later. In Australia any dentist can apparently perform implant surgery so it's concerning. It turned out with further x-rays that I had done here before I went, as I had to send them to BIDC for a treatment plan, that two other teeth near the missing tooth have cracks and need crowns, I had this verified here so will be getting them done there on this trip along with a veener to match the crowns and I am going all out and getting teeth whitening as well. I did get dental tourism travel insurance from Go Insurance as well http://www.goinsurance.com.au/dental-tourism-travel-insuranc… was $163.62 for the total policy for the dental insurance and regular travel insurance, for 1 week. I used a coupon code to get it to this price as well. I felt that was a small price to pay for some further peace of mind. I went by myself in March using frequent flyer points and my wife and 2 kids are coming on this trip to make a holiday out of it. It turns out my wife now needs an dental implant as well, as the expensive dentist she used to see here installed a crown that failed in less than a year meaning a side tooth had to be removed. This dentist owns a general dentist practice in Sydney as well as an implant practice in the city. We managed to get the crown costs refunded from him which was good. So even though we have top private cover here, it will be a lot cheaper for us to get the dental work done there even with flights and a hotel and we will make a holiday out of it as well. I am confident after visiting the 7 level BIDC clinic and seeing there clean top quality facility. Finding a better price for a good product or service has always been in my nature and how I found oz bargain in the first place. Happy to answer any further questions.

  http://www.bangkokdentalcenter.com

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 21/09/2016 - 22:49

    Dental Implant is the one I'm looking at! Problematic tooth is still in place though. Thanks for the dental tourism plan info! That's essential! I didn't even know that exists.

    A bit iffy about this bit though… "If a Dental Practitioner in Australia recommends that you travel back overseas to have the complication rectified, Go Insurance will offer up to $5,000 to pay for your flights and accommodation."… I highly doubt that an Australian Dental Practitioner would recommend an overseas provider.

    Getting a tooth whitening too while you are at it also makes a lot of sense!

    Could you please PM me or post the name of your dental surgeon? Please give me a followup when you're done on how everything went with him in the end. Did he communicate everything clearly with you and otherwise found him easy to deal with? I'm a little bit of a nervous person so I need someone I feel comfortable with.

    So to summarise you 1. Had complications of not treating missing tooth right away (not a planned extraction) 2. Got Implants there and 3. Soon you will get the crowns there too.

    I was planning to do 1. Tooth extraction there (cleaner job without complications) 2. Implants there 3. Crowns here (It's just sticking a crown on an Implant right?) What made you decide to go back for the Crowns? Was it cost or just because the Dentist over here buggered up your wife's and you didn't want to take a chance with anyone else?

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      dandandan on 22/09/2016 - 00:05

      +1

      The policy is for elective dental, only one you get in Australia that I am aware off. Your dentist does not have to recommend you travel overseas but recommend that same procedure here. You basically just have to discuss with them, as per the questions on the application form. My wife discussed with the new dentist she saw, to get failed crown tooth extracted, and they had no issues. I went to my health insurer dentist to get the panaromic x-ray required for BIDC to prepare a treatment schedule and they had no issues.

      My implant procedure was performed by Assist Prof. Dr. Preeda Pungpapong DDS., MSc., http://www.bangkokdentalcenter.com/thailanddentist/dentists_… Considering any general dentist can perform implant surgery in Australia I would actually more concerned about getting an implant here.

      I lost a tooth about 15 years ago playing Rugby. Whilst still playing I could not risk getting an implant as if the implant got knocked out I would not be able to get another one. So correct not a planned extraction. I wear a cosmetic denture so I don't have a missing tooth and I wanted the permanent solution of an implant.About 5 years ago I went to sort out but was told I needed braces. I went back to dentist last year for a solution and was told Invisalign treatment would fix which it did. I decided against implant cost here and researched overseas and decided on BIDC in Bangkok Thailand. There is lots of info and reviews out there. You have to wait at least 3 months after an implant, for it to heal and for the osseointegration process to take place. Basically the implant grow into your bone. You do not feel the process at all, not even the needles going in as they put some topical numbing solution around your mouth before the needles. They cover your face so you don't see anything which is good.

      I decided to get it all done there as it's cheaper and I hardly get anything back from top extras cover. Experienced Implantologists perform the implant procedure and prosthodontists do the crowns etc and they used the top brand implants. You can get cheaper implants here but you need to look into what type of implants they use and crowns as well.

      I would be getting the extraction here and the rest done there. You do need to wait 3-6 months after an extraction before getting an implant. For the crown they do impressions to get the size then they do adjustments after that as well, as far as I know. Crowns range from $380 to $760 depending on what type, Philip Zoom teeth whitening is $380 compared to the $699 it said it was on a Today show video that was posted on the Philips website. Interestingly the dentist in the video was my Sydney dentist.

      • 

        zappy32 on 22/09/2016 - 03:50

        Just want to say thank you for the detailed post. The other half is looking to have nearly the same done and even with mid to high extra cover, it will still be nearly all out of pocket. The prices are far cheaper than she was quoted, even through a teaching dentist(albeit by the professor with student watching) it is far more expensive.

        She's already planning to go back home to Europe for three months next year(unfortunately with equally expensive dental care), so may look at getting some work done on the return leg.

        It's also the first time I've seen the dental insurance plan but it sounds like it could be a deal maker, still yet to give it a read through.

        Thanks again!

      • 

        dandandan on 22/09/2016 - 20:09

        @zappy32:

        Good luck, I have had a great experience so far and have nothing but praise for the treatment I received.

  • 

    shaybisc on 22/09/2016 - 08:14

    Interesting.

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  ms_caz on 22/09/2016 - 06:35

  My husband had root canal and crown service done with a dental clinic in Bangkok. The clinic is Thantakit http://www.thantakit.com/ Western trained staff, professional, modern, clean - all those things that you would hope to encounter. They picked us up from our hotel and returned us after the procedure. He had the first part of the treatment done on the first day of our holiday - we went off and came back to Bangkok ten days later and by this time the crown had been manufactured and was ready to be applied. I don't think that was actually the time it took to manufacture - just how it fit with our holiday. He had no problems at all and would highly recommend their service. It was a few years ago now but as I recall the cost of our flights AND the dental work was less than the quote he had received here (but we were going there on holiday anyway.)

  My husband has also had an implant done - here in Australia. It would have been much cheaper for us to go back to Thailand BUT the whole process took a lot of time (for his work anyway). We didn't have the amount of time available that would have made a trip (or in fact multiple trips) to Thailand worthwhile. He needed to have a bone graft and I think encountered other difficulties. I think he had six - eight visits to his dentist here before everything was finished, and I know that he felt it was quite a traumatic experience. Would it have been similar in Thailand - who is to know? I would certainly explore the options a bit more if we had to do it again.

  I recommend contacting Thantakit and discussing your situation with them to see what they recommend.

  good luck with it.

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  chumlee on 22/09/2016 - 07:05

  Dr Nick works in Thailand now so be on the lookout

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  Ryanek on 22/09/2016 - 08:09

  +1

  The Philippines is great for dental work and flights are cheap. Everyone speaks English and the food is great. Just don't do drugs.

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  Sunshines bright on 22/09/2016 - 21:14

  I had two crowns put on in Bangkok, and they had offices in Phuket where we were going also. I do not recall the pricing but it was significantly less then having it done here. The dentist spoke fluent English and had studied in the USA. I saw Dr. Preeda Pungpapong and here is their web site: http://www.bangkoksmiledental.com/index.php It was very professional and he did a great job fitting my crowns. And it was very clean and hygienic as good as any Dentist I ever saw in the USA (where I am from).

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  [Deactivated] on 14/04/2017 - 11:32

  Re cosmetic whitening procedures - is anyone aware of any significant differences between "Plasma Cool-white system" and the Philips "Zoom 2 system"? I'll be in Bangkok next week and, based on research and convenience factors, have shortlisted the Thanakit International Dental Centre, which offers both services, albeit at slightly different prices. I don't mind paying more for improved efficiency & effectiveness of the treatment, if anyone can offer some advice. Additionally, recommendations for dentists in the vicinity of Sukhumvit will be warmly received. Cheers!