Here is a true story of an Australian retiree named Neil Glenister relating to his experience in Thailand as a dental tourist. There are lot of things he had considered before travelling to Thailand. This may serve as an example or a carbon copy of what you would do or need to do before travelling to Thailand for dental tourism.
Australians needing expensive work on their teeth and are looking overseas for cheaper alternatives. Nicky Park uncovers the risky move of dental tourism in Thailand. Australian retiree Neil Glenister was left with two missing teeth after they rotted away four years ago.The Queenslander, then 70, got a quote from his local dentist of $6000 for a bridge to replace the missing teeth.
Like a growing number of Aussies, Glenister decided to include his dental work on a South-East Asian escape and booked a two-week trip to Thailand for dental tourism, for $4000.A shuttle bus was sent to his Phuket hotel on three mornings, where he hopped on board with other Aussies tourists in town for dental and cosmetic work, and was taken to Bangkok Phuket Hospital.”The hospital was as good as any hospital here … I couldn’t fault it and there’s been nothing wrong with the work that’s been done,” Glenister said of his successful experience.
Dental work is about a third of the price in Thailand compared to Australia, plus “they’re getting a holiday at the same time”.
“It’s way cheaper than in Australia,” she says from her travel agency in Tewantin, just north of Noosa, in Queensland.The most popular procedures she books are crowns, costing $5000 in Thailand, dental implants, priced at $2600 and veneers priced at $350 per tooth.In Australia the same procedures can cost as much as $11,000, $5,000 and $800 respectively.
“They’re very reluctant to talk about it to the dentist … because your mouth’s very personal so people don’t want to make that sort of stuff public,” he said.If you don’t get satisfaction there are complaints commission boards and even courts if you need (them) to give you a chance to protect yourself,” he says.
But Sherrif, who gets about 20 inquiries a week for dental holidays, says she has a partnership with the Bangkok Phuket Hospital, the only establishment in the country recognised under the Thai government’s Quality Improvement Accreditation.Sherrif found the hospital about five years ago when her husband, John, was in need of major dental work that would have set them back about $25,000 if done locally.
It cost him $5000 to get it done in Thailand.
Sherrif has noticed a recent boom in the service, especially amongst over-40s, and is toying with the idea of getting an Asian hospital on board. She has offered dental holidays for the past four years and says complaints are minimal and “overall it’s been relatively good”.”We’ve had the odd dental one, we had one client where the crown wasn’t quite perfect or something … (but) honestly, overall … we don’t have many complaints.
This example showed how people reacts and answer to the call for dental tourism. Practically wise, they are choosing Asian countries like Thailand for their recognizable low cost and first-class quality of service. Choosing Thailand as a destination for medical and dental tourism is a decision worth smiling for.
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