Thailand Dental Tourism: How one dental chain is making it easier and safer for Australians to get

Bangkok Smile MALO CLINIC offers Aussies affordable dental treatments, payment plans as well as International Patient Guarantee

program back home.

Thailand has been a well known destination among Aussies for its great medical care. It has an unparalleled international reputation both for elective and non elective treatments. Hospitals and clinics are constantly looking for ways to cater to the Aussies and find ways to add value.

Bangkok Smile Dental Group, one of Thailand's largest group dental practices with eight locations in Bangkok and Phuket, is a large recipient of international patients since 2003. They receive thousands of inquiries from Australians who want to save on cost of their dental treatment and also want to enjoy a vacation in Thailand.

Bangkok Smile has a had a laser beam focus on Aussies to make their dental journey as smooth as possible and also is the only dental network that offers access and international patient guarantee program to Aussies who return home.

In my recent survey of a sample group of nearly 80 Aussie patients who chose Bangkok Smile as their clinic of choice to undergo various dental treatments, from a simple dental cleaning to more advanced cosmetic and dental implant treatments, such as the All On 4, full mouth rehabilitation, where patients can have a full set of teeth in a jaw over only 4 dental implants, in just 24 hours; I asked them why they chose Thailand and why they chose Bangkok Smile? After all, dental tourism is a new thing for many countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, India and Turkey and some of these countries, offer similar or even lower prices than Thailand.

The results of my survey indicated that even-though all of the patients' main goal was to save on cost of dental treatment compared to what an average dentist charges in Australia; they indicated that the value for their money and concern about quality of care and follow up, played a huge role in their decisions to come to Thailand and also choose Bangkok Smile Dental Group. The following are the general questions that were asked and general answers received from this survey.

Question : Why did you choose Thailand over other countries such as India or Bali?

Answer: Thailand has a great reputation as an international medical hub and Thai doctors are highly educated compared to Indonesian Doctors. Many patients in Indonesia, travel to Thailand for their medical care as well. India has a great medical education but the infrastructure is not as developed as Thailand. Thailand offers great airports, great and affordable hotels for every budget, the food is great, people are super nice and friendly and there is a large range of activities that is appealing to both individuals and families.

Question: How much do you think you save by coming to Thailand for your dental care?

The savings can be anywhere from 50-80%. In Australia, the prices are high because the operational cost is also high. In Thailand, labor cost is lower, thus dental clinics can offer better prices. Also, at Bangkok Smile, dentists are specialists and yet their prices are much less than a regular general dentist back home.

Question: Why did you choose Bangkok Smile? Did you consider other clinics?

Bangkok Smile has a great reputation in Australia as many people have been coming here and they have many testimonials. However, they also have a very good level of communication and it is easy to connect with them. The most important aspect of going to Bangkok Smile is their association with MALO CLINIC. This gives us the confidence that everything is based on International standards and if a problem arises, we can go and visit a MALO CLINIC in Australia. We think this gives us a big peace of mind and that is why we chose Bangkok Smile.

Patients not only come to Thailand for medical and dental treatment but also range of other activities, such as shopping and entertainment.

Question: Do you have any concerns on safety issues regarding your dental treatment in Thailand?

Answer: Safety is always a concern. We are concerned about safety even back home in Australia. We have had many of our friends in Thailand who have had both good and bad experiences in various clinics. We chose Bangkok Smile for its great reputation, also they are JCI accredited and again, being part of the MALO CLINIC network is huge undertaking for any dental clinic to uphold their reputation. We really feel safe.

Question: What do you recommend to other Aussies who are considering to come to Thailand?

Answer: We say, they must consider it. The amount of savings is huge. There is no reason to have any fears of coming here. Our experience is very positive and it is no wonder thousands of our fellow Australians come here every day.

Dr. Allen Nazeri DDS MBA is the managing director of Nazeri & Company Co., Ltd. a healthcare consulting and investment banking firm helping healthcare companies with their business development activities in Thailand and Internationally. He can be reached at Drallenci@gmail.com or +66948870869 + 17026050555