We would rather you asked us hard questions than booked on price alone. Patients who arrive having asked them are easier to treat, because we are starting from the same understanding of what is going to happen.
Send these to any clinic you are considering, us included. What you are testing is not just the answers but whether you get answers at all.
1. Who will actually do the treatment?
Not the name on the website — the name of the dentist who will be holding the instruments, and their training. If you are having implants or surgery, ask what proportion of their work is that treatment.
2. What brand and system are you using?
For an implant this is the single most important question, and it has a specific answer. Implant systems are not interchangeable: if you need a component replaced in ten years, a dentist at home needs to know which system is in your jaw. A clinic that will not name it is telling you something.
The same applies to crowns and veneers — zirconia, lithium disilicate, layered porcelain and composite are different materials with different lifespans and different prices.
3. Can I see the X-ray or scan, and will I get a copy?
You should leave with your own records: radiographs, the treatment note, the implant system and the shade used. Your dentist at home will need them, and they are yours.
4. What exactly does the quoted price include?
Ask whether it covers the examination, the X-rays, the temporary, the final restoration, the follow-up appointments, and the anaesthetic. A number that excludes half of those is not a lower price, it is a shorter list.
5. What happens if it fails after I go home?
Ask what is guaranteed, for how long, and what the guarantee actually entitles you to — a free remake, a refund, or a contribution. Then ask the important half: who pays for the flight? A remake is only free if you were coming back anyway.
6. How many appointments, and how many days between them?
Anything made in a laboratory needs a gap. If a clinic tells you a full set of porcelain veneers can be measured and fitted in 48 hours, ask which laboratory, and ask what happens if the shade is wrong. See how many days each treatment needs.
7. What is the plan if you open the tooth and find something worse?
Good clinics have already thought about this. The answer should be a process — we stop, we show you, we re-quote, you decide — not a reassurance that it will not happen.
8. Are there alternatives to what you have proposed?
Almost always yes, and a dentist who lists them, including the cheaper and the do-nothing options, is a dentist thinking about your teeth rather than the invoice. If you are being quoted eight veneers, ask what four would look like, and what whitening alone would do.
9. What language will we be speaking during treatment?
It sounds trivial until you are in the chair trying to explain that something hurts. Ask directly whether the dentist — not the receptionist — speaks your language.
10. Can I talk to the dentist before I fly?
The answer should be yes. A photograph and a short conversation costs nothing and prevents most of the disappointment we hear about second-hand: patients who flew for a plan that an examination immediately changed.
The answers that should worry you
- A price quoted without seeing an X-ray, then described as final.
- A refusal to name the implant system or the crown material.
- A guarantee with no written terms.
- Pressure to decide today because of a rate that expires.
- A treatment plan that grows substantially after you have already paid a deposit.
None of these mean a clinic is bad. All of them mean you should ask the next question.
Is dental work in Thailand as safe as at home?
Standards vary between clinics in every country, Thailand included. Judge the clinic, not the country: the dentist's training, the materials they name, the records they give you, and what they commit to in writing.
What should I bring to my first appointment?
Any recent X-rays, a list of medication you take, and a note of any medical conditions. Photographs of what is bothering you help if you are asking questions before you fly.
Should I pay a deposit before arriving?
A deposit to hold surgical time is normal. A large prepayment for a plan made without an examination is not — the plan can change once someone looks properly.
What if I need follow-up care once I am home?
Ask for your treatment note, your radiographs and the exact system or material used. Any competent dentist can then take over.
Still not sure?
Tell us what is bothering you and we will tell you what it would take to fix — before you book anything.
