The International Schools Review Forum

I need to have a tooth extracted. It's getting done in the states and I go to Malaysia in July. My dentist said since it's the last tooth on the jaw, I may not need an implant...which would be about 5-6K here in the states. If down the road, I think I need an implant, has anyone had experience with dental work in SE Asia, and it was a positive experience?

I had dental work in South Asia. Get a recommendation for your specific location but apart from that it should be fine. I paid a fraction of the cost it would have been in western countries for wisdom teeth extraction and it was perfectly good. Machinery was a little dated but everything went smoothly and my dentist was western trained. The worst part was trying to tell a rickshaw to take me home afterwards.

If you're going to KL, you'll be absolutely fine. Just ask around your staff for a good referral and you will surely find a good doctor, dentist, eye doctor, etc. There are many, many very good local doctors trained in the US, UK or Europe. When I lived in KL I dealt with doctors, surgeons and dentists with absolutely no hesitations. And gibwise makes a good point too - cost is generally lower than you would pay at home.

It shouldnt be problematic, the hardest part is getting a good referral for someone who is a proficient English speaker, but there are lots of western trained medical professionals. Cost is a fraction of what youd pay domestically, your implant and the procedure wouldnt cost more than a couple hundred USD. You also get a lot more choices in materials and service professionals. You can have a technician do fillings really cheap. By paying out of pocket you can choose a noble metal implant, porcelain or composite.

yeah. but dental work in TX is so different from overseas...

I've had very good experiences in several countries. In Thailand, my favorite was dentist that also employed spa touches like aromatherapy. Bangkok Dental Spa has a lady massage your feet during the cleaning and any subsequent drilling. Sounds kooky, but totally legit and really kept my mind off my mouth! :D You can look it up online.

@wntriscoming

Was there a happy ending afterwards?

My cavity was gone. That's happy enough for me!

Bangkok.

If you can go to BKK, go to Bumrungrad Hospital. They have an extensive amount of info on their website, which usually includes prices.

BKK or KL. Fraction of the cost (5-6k is a joke) with at least the same quality. You'll be going to KL so get it done there.

I feel a lot better about this now... Thanks for all the posts..

PsyGuy said, "Cost is a fraction of what you'd pay domestically, your implant and the procedure wouldn't cost more than a couple hundred USD."

I don't know about elsewhere in Asia, but an implant in Bangkok will cost at least $2000 and probably closer to $3000. That's assuming it's a straightforward case. I don't know how much implants cost in the US, so probably this is still a saving, but it's nowhere near as cheap as PsyGuy is suggesting. And the same principle applies to other kinds of dental work. You can certainly get high quality work from well-qualified professionals, but it's not that cheap.

@aussiechick

We have vastly different experiences that I can not reconcile. I had an abscessed tooth extracted and implant installed to replace it the cost was just under $300 USD in Thailand.

Where did you have that done?!!