Dental Tourism

[Cornfed]

On the optimistic assumption that I will have the time and funds to travel in the next year, I plan to get the many dental issues that have crept up on me sorted out. Can anyone recommend a good, cheap dentist in Asia?

Also, having teeth seems to be a pain in the butt as you get older and it occurs to me that as the world goes down the drain, you wouldn/t want to be stuck with dental problems. It used to be the tradition here that you were better off without your natural teeth. For your 21st birthday your parents would pay for a clearance operation to be done and set of dentures made. Does anyone have any thoughts on this option?

[royalism]

On the optimistic assumption that I will have the time and funds to travel in the next year, I plan to get the many dental issues that have crept up on me sorted out. Can anyone recommend a good, cheap dentist in Asia?

Also, having teeth seems to be a pain in the butt as you get older and it occurs to me that as the world goes down the drain, you wouldn/t want to be stuck with dental problems. It used to be the tradition here that you were better off without your natural teeth. For your 21st birthday your parents would pay for a clearance operation to be done and set of dentures made. Does anyone have any thoughts on this option?

Malaysia or Thailand is well known for medical tourism.

Better in Malaysia

[Yohan]

You might visit Pattaya, Thailand, and walking down the Central Road, you will see many dentists on both sides. There are many foreigners in Thailand who do not have any health insurance covering dental work in their home countries. Much cheaper in Thailand than in Europe.

There are also other services like dermatology and LASIK eye-correction available to improve your looks. Optical services for eye-glasses etc. are also reasonable.

Medical services are good and fairly cheap in Thailand if you compare them with Europe and not to talk about USA which is well known for crazy medical bills.

[Yohan]

Also, having teeth seems to be a pain in the butt as you get older and it occurs to me that as the world goes down the drain, you wouldn/t want to be stuck with dental problems. It used to be the tradition here that you were better off without your natural teeth...

You are not better off without your natural teeth - especially not without your natural teeth of the lower jaw.
It does not make any sense to remove a healthy tooth.
You will not suffer with dental problems when getting older, at least not in Thailand. To pull a tooth out done by a good privately paid dentist is about USD 20,-.

I had once after a accident internal bleeding in the knee. The bill for X-ray, punctation to get the blood out and various drugs was about USD 60,-.

One time I got a severe tropical fever and had to stay 5 nights in a private hospital in an air-con room., I paid for everything, including food, various blood tests, medicines and so on about USD 700,- and my insurance in Japan paid later on about 400 USD back to me.

Thailand is cheap and good, but as another member said, Malaysia is offering better medical treatment in the major cities, but it is also somewhat more expensive than Thailand.

[MrPeabody]

I have used dentists in Mexico and have had some bad experiences. I am currently undergoing problems with a root canal gone bad. When I first came to Mexico, I went to a dentist. He looked at my teeth and told me I had 8 cavities. I was shocked and then he said "Do you drink Diet Coke?". I said yes and he said he sees that a lot from people who drinks sodas because it is corrosive of teeth. I was skeptical and went to another dentist and he said I had no cavities. I recently had a dentist who told me I had an infection and gave me antibiotics. I go to another for a second opinion and he says I have no infection. They will tell you anything to drill a hole in your head and make money.

From my experience, I would never go to a dentist unless he was recommended by someone I knew personally and whose opinion I respect. By the way, the worst dentist I ever had was recommended highly on a forum on the Internet. You will end up paying more money if you go to someone you can't trust and he lies to you. In third world countries there are no legal protections and lawyers to sue for botched work. When I lived in the US I always had great dentists. If you can afford it, I would just recommend getting work done in the US and then changing your diet so you don't have cavities.

[Contrarian Expatriate]

On the optimistic assumption that I will have the time and funds to travel in the next year, I plan to get the many dental issues that have crept up on me sorted out. Can anyone recommend a good, cheap dentist in Asia?

Also, having teeth seems to be a pain in the butt as you get older and it occurs to me that as the world goes down the drain, you wouldn/t want to be stuck with dental problems. It used to be the tradition here that you were better off without your natural teeth. For your 21st birthday your parents would pay for a clearance operation to be done and set of dentures made. Does anyone have any thoughts on this option?

If you put half the energy you expend on hating other men's success into finding more gainful employment, you would be able to afford dental insurance coverage.

My dentist advised that he has treated many people who had bad dental work done in the Philippines. He advised never having dental work done there unless it is a simple tooth cleaning or a tooth extraction.

Medical and dental procedures should be restricted to the USA, or at least the first world. Always seek to have medical and legal recourse that you don't necessarily have in developing countries.

[pete98146]

I absolutely have a recommendation for a good dentist! Ten years ago, I had these guys put on two veneers on my front teeth. The workmanship was amazing. Cost? $200 per tooth. My wife is a dental assistant and she says it's one of the best veneer jobs she's ever seen and she looks at teeth all day long. They may not be the cheapest but they do very good work and with dental work, you get what you pay for. A few years ago, I stopped by for a cleaning which was $40.

They also have a Cerec machine that mills the crowns and veneers right there on site quickly. This eliminates having to send the work to a dental lab which can add a day or two into the equation.

I've always had good luck sending them an email describing what you need done and they'll get right back to you with price estimates. This place is very popular with expats. Can't recommend them highly enough.

http://www.asavanant.com/. They are in Bangkok.

[davewe]

On the optimistic assumption that I will have the time and funds to travel in the next year, I plan to get the many dental issues that have crept up on me sorted out. Can anyone recommend a good, cheap dentist in Asia?

Also, having teeth seems to be a pain in the butt as you get older and it occurs to me that as the world goes down the drain, you wouldn/t want to be stuck with dental problems. It used to be the tradition here that you were better off without your natural teeth. For your 21st birthday your parents would pay for a clearance operation to be done and set of dentures made. Does anyone have any thoughts on this option?

If you put half the energy you expend on hating other men's success into finding more gainful employment, you would be able to afford dental insurance coverage.

My dentist advised that he has treated many people who had bad dental work done in the Philippines. He advised never having dental work done there unless it is a simple tooth cleaning or a tooth extraction.

Medical and dental procedures should be restricted to the USA, or at least the first world. Always seek to have medical and legal recourse that you don't necessarily have in developing countries.

While I do agree with your 1st paragraph, I don't necessarily agree with your 2nd and 3rd. I wouldn't make a blanket statement about dental work in the Philippines or Thailand - there's good and bad.

If it were me and I was trying to save a tooth, like having a root canal, I would bite the bullet (pun intended) and do it in the first world. But if it were a matter of thousands of dollars of cosmetic work and I was already intending to go to Asia, I would consider it.

My wife did go to some of those not so great Philippines dentists. It is not just that they are unskilled (some are and some aren't); it's that by the time most of their poor patients get to see them, the only option is to pull the tooth.

In her case, one of the first things we did when she got here was take her to the dentist. Even though she is young the work was fairly extensive and even with dental insurance there was a pretty good sized bill at the end. Eventually she is gonna want or need a bridge/crown or two. Even with insurance the cost will be plenty and we might consider having that sort of work done in Asia.

I also agree that having the teeth pulled out when not necessary is crazy. Don't know about the prices in Asia but I can't imagine that oral surgery + good dentures are cheap even in Thailand.

[DeniceS]

My friend in Colorado also had a dental treatment in Bangkok (crowns, implants and veneers, I think), which he could not afford if it was at home. He doesn’t know about Thai dental standards, all we know is that he can get half of the price there compared at home. He is also a bit hesitant, but then he did an extensive research on few of the well trusted dental clinics and consulted a trusted dental tourism provider located in Colorado called PlacidWay, to assist him with his trip and accommodation, which is kinda good. I don't remember the exact name of the clinic though, it was 2 years ago. When he came back from the treatment, he raved bout how lovely the rooms were, how great the specialists are.

I think it all depends on going to the right place, there is lots of information on the net right now.

[johnponting74]

Smile Mexico dentists helps your dental tourism in Mexico to be a GREAT experience. I’m Canadian and my wife is a Mexican dentist in Mexico