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Choose a dentist



How to choose a dentist at a dental clinic in Thailand

So, you don’t speak Thai?

Well, we don’t either. No problem in Bangkok. The good news is that all of the better known dental centers here have bilingual staff. The hurdle to overcome is the receptionist. Some are better than others, but in any case you shouldn’t let a receptionist with poor English keep you away. What counts is the dentist and they tend to do just fine. Many of them actually enjoy speaking to foreigners and impressing their assistants with their language skills. So, just pick up the phone and call. You could ask a Thai friend, but it’s worth trying yourself. All you need to ask for is a first appointment. You find phone numbers and web links in the Bangkok’s top clinics section. But first you might want to…

Choose a doctor

If you already know what you need, you can be more specific when you ask for a first appointment. Otherwise you ask for a general dentist, who will perform a routine check and refer you to a specialist of the same facility if necessary. In both cases you can ask for specific dentists. How, if you don’t know any? You browse through the list of doctors of a facility on their website. They usually come with a little picture of the dentist and the name of the university he or she graduated from. This should also give you some pretty good indication as for language skills, since you will see in which country they earned their degree. Wherever available I have added the link to the list of doctors.

Listing logic

It will always be subjective and … a great dentist doesn’t need a fancy building. That’s all true. Everything else being equal, chances that you meet very good dentists are higher at well managed clinics with decent equipment. Just ask yourself where you would work if you were good enough that you can choose to work where you want. You find a list of other facilities at the bottom of the page.

And the winners are…

Bangkok International Dental Center (BIDC)

Focused on dentistry their web site is excellent and you find what you are looking for much faster than with the big hospital sites, which in their design try to accommodate all areas of medicine. Adetailed price list shows the average number of days and visits required. Their list of doctors has a good share of internationally trained dentists. It does not show though how many hours per week they are actually there. The international patients services section of the site is a clear indication that the BIDC wants a share of the medical tourists Bangkok is attracting. Little surprise that they say that their focus is on implants and cosmetic dentistry. BIDC’s current branches include Bangkok Dental Home on the Phahonyothin Road and the Prasarnmit Dental Home in Sukhumvit. 157 Ratchadapesik Rd., Din Daeng District, Bangkok 10400 (map) Tel: (662) 930 1144

Bumrungrad Hospital – Dental Center

The most famous of Bangkok Hospitals offers a full range of medical a-la-carte services. it’s a 5 Billion Bath operation with a strong focus on international clients. In their annual report they claim that close to 50% of their revenue comes from foreigners. They are listed on the Thai stock exchange and claim to be the biggest private hospital in South-East Asia. It prides itself to be the first Asian hospital accredited by the JCIA. Many of the medical tourism type arrangements involve the Bumrungrad International. Their dental center is a save choice. While the general level of their doctors is high (just look at their resumes), there are differences. Also check on the staff list for how many days a week your candidate dentist is working there. Some are working only one or two days a week and if you are not flexible time-wise, that can be a problem. They claim that their patients are always treated by dentists, never by oral hygienists. Bumrungrad Hospital, 3rd Floor, South Wing Main Lobby Escalators to the 3rd floor, turn right to the end of the hallway, 33 Sukhumvit 3, Wattana, Bangkok ( map) Dental Appointment  (662) 667 2300 (find a collection of pictures about the Bumrungrad Hospital here)

Dental Hospital

A modern dental clinic with 24h emergency service. Unfortunately with a poor website. 88/88 Sukhumvit 49, Sukhumvit Road, (map) Tel : (662) 260 5000-15

Silom Dental Building

Unimpressive website but they do have a good number of internationally trained doctors. 439/4-5 Naratiwatrajnakarin Rd., Silom, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500, (map),  (662) 636 9091, (662) 636 9097

Thantakit Dental Clinic

They have a high number of internationally trained dentists and modern facilities. 1939 New Petchburi Rd., Bangkapi, Huaykwang, Bangkok 10310, (map), Tel.  (662) 718 0777

Bangkok Dental Spa

Smaller clinic with focus on personal care. Specializes in prosthodontal treatment and cosmetic surgery. Managed by the very media savvy Dr. Lily. If you don’t like the really big and more impersonal places, the Bangkok Dental Spa Clinic appears worth a try. The clinic web site has plenty of testimonials of fellow falangs. Have a look at their dental case gallery – pretty impressive. 27 Methawattana building 2nd, Sukhumvit soi-19,Bangkok,Thailand (2 min.walk from Asoke BTS station, (map)  (662) 651 0807,  (662) 651 0730

Bangkok Hospital – Dental Center

Pretty much in the same league as the Bumrungrad, Bangkok Hospital is a major private hospital and offers all types of medical services. In 2005 they were the only hospital in the list of the best 200 companies in Asian-Pacific countries published by Forbes Magazine. Their dental center recently moved to a new building and everything is new and shiny. They are strong in the field of implant surgery – have a look at the list of doctors and notice that every one had a degree with a Western university, in case you worry about language problems. When I counted last time they had 79 dentists listed in their find-a-doctor search engine.. If you just need a check or you are not sure what you need, choose a doctor listed under ‘general dentistry’. He or she will then get specialists on board if required. Bangkok Hospital 2 Soi Soonvijai 7, New Petchburi Rd., Bangkok 10310, (map), Tel.  (662) 310 3000

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for a listing of dental facilities in MediThai’s custom built, Google powered, search engine. All the information you get is Thailand specific.

or click here.

The Thaiwebsites list you get by clicking the above link shows you many other dental clinics in Thailand as well as some laboratories. It does however not contain hospitals with dental centers. Keep in mind also that the text with every link is not independent commentary but the facilities self-description extracted from their meta tags.