Recommend A Dental Clinic?

[endure]

Evening all. I'll be arriving in CM shortly and am on the lookout for personal recommendations for a dental clinic to lavish some TLC on my fangs. I'm English so need all the help I can get

Anyone got any good news stories about CM dentists please?

[ThaiPauly]

I have been using Grace Dental Practice for the last 8 years and have nothing but praise for them.

If you do go make sure you see the owner Dr.Korakot, speaks perfect English and really knows her stuff.

They are not the cheapest in town, but they are the best IMHO

[MilesCh]

For th e past 7 or 8 years I have used Grace Clinic which is probably the most expensive and best in the north.

[chiang mai]

Dr Joy at Elite Smile has excellent ENglish and a very strong reputation, she's a nice lady as well. Lower floor, Pantip Plaza, Channklan Road, about half of the cost of Grace I would guess.

[Gladiator]

Another, and possibly cheaper, option is the Payon Dental Clinic - Dr. J

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5223311

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5651287

After reading the above recommendations I have now attended on several occasions and found ithe clinic fine in terms of competence, price and parking.

[chiang mai]

Another, and possibly cheaper, option is the Payon Dental Clinic - Dr. J

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5223311

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5651287

After reading the above recommendations I have now attended on several occasions and found ithe clinic fine in terms of competence, price and parking.

Check with poster elektrified, he very recently reported a really painfull dental experience.

[jaideeguy]

This topic comes up at least once a month and the constant reply is Grace. Known her for 9 yrs and she is the best, but her prices are going up.

[Gladiator]

Another, and possibly cheaper, option is the Payon Dental Clinic - Dr. J

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5223311

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5651287

After reading the above recommendations I have now attended on several occasions and found ithe clinic fine in terms of competence, price and parking.

Check with poster elektrified, he very recently reported a really painfull dental experience.

Regarding Payon Dental Clinic

I would be interested to hear about Elektrified's experience at Payon. I have performed a search on 'Payon' and am unable to find the post. Similarly, no doubt to my own ignorance of retrieval, I have looked at Elektrified's recent posts but can only display one page.

Still, I can only relate my own experiences there, which were very positive, and I chose Payon after several recommendations on this forum. Ultimately I suppose we must take as we find.

[chiang mai]

Another, and possibly cheaper, option is the Payon Dental Clinic - Dr. J

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5223311

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5651287

After reading the above recommendations I have now attended on several occasions and found ithe clinic fine in terms of competence, price and parking.

Check with poster elektrified, he very recently reported a really painfull dental experience.

Regarding Payon Dental Clinic

I would be interested to hear about Elektrified's experience at Payon. I have performed a search on 'Payon' and am unable to find the post. Similarly, no doubt to my own ignorance of retrieval, I have looked at Elektrified's recent posts but can only display one page.

Still, I can only relate my own experiences there, which were very positive, and I chose Payon after several recommendations on this forum. Ultimately I suppose we must take as we find.

See post 32 in this thread, I didn't say however that it was the dentist you quoted, just that he had a bad experience and that dentist was quoted in the thread:

[kaptainrob]

Dr Joy at Elite Smile has excellent ENglish and a very strong reputation, she's a nice lady as well. Lower floor, Pantip Plaza, Channklan Road, about half of the cost of Grace I would guess.

Very happy with Elite

Free parking across the road in Wat or shop at Panthip and use parking underneath.

[cloudhopper]

I received excellent care at CM Ram hospital dental clinic as well as Grace.

[hellodolly]

Dr Joy at Elite Smile has excellent ENglish and a very strong reputation, she's a nice lady as well. Lower floor, Pantip Plaza, Channklan Road, about half of the cost of Grace I would guess.

I concur. Have been using her ever since she opened about 4 years ago.

This topic comes up about two three times a year and she is always rated as one of the best. It used to be Grace was rated as very good but the last few times this topic came up it was not rated that good any more. Prices had gone up and the service seemed to be lacking.

I have yet to hear of a negative thing at smile clinic It is located in Pantip Plaza but you must enter from of off Changklan as there is no entrance inside the mall.

I find her to be quite honest. I have a large filling just about ready to fall out she says. /She says she can replace it but it is going to be so large she is not sure it would hold or she can put a cap on it. Also she says don't worry about it untill it falls out. No pressurejust a honest opinion. It has been a year and a half and she still just mentions it.

[kaptainrob]

PM request to add further info re Elite Smile ....

My wife had treatment, filings replaced, whilst I was in another room having cosmetic work + a couple of fillings. My 4 appointments cost just over 6k whilst her 2 were under 3k in total.

The clinic is modern and excellent English spoken. My dentist had worked in Canada for a while. One can pay them a visit, have an examination, discuss options and have 'work' quoted prior to commencement. Email elite smile Thailand for appointment prior to arrival.

[lexilis]

Many thanks to the posters who provide good info on this topic. I also am looking for a dentist here in CM. Recently had an old crown fall out so that will have to be replaced. I am going to try the Elite Smile at Pantip. Thanks.

[elektrified]

Another, and possibly cheaper, option is the Payon Dental Clinic - Dr. J

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5223311

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5651287

After reading the above recommendations I have now attended on several occasions and found ithe clinic fine in terms of competence, price and parking.

Check with poster elektrified, he very recently reported a really painfull dental experience.

chiang mai must be a mind reader because I never mentioned the name of the clinic!

But I can not recommend the clinic. The doctor is nice and I will say that he was experienced (about 10 years) and had a steady hand. On the day of my appointment to have a filling replaced the doctor gave me the first injection of anesthetic and didn't even inject the complete vial. (I had discussed pain issues with him at the initial appointment a few days before and he assured me he would be ready to deal with any situation.) I asked that he give the complete vial and then a 2nd one. That started a bit of a disagreement and 'a back and forth' with him and I. He insisted he begin drilling into my tooth and if I needed more medicine then "no problem". I almost went through the ceiling. The pain was unbelievable! He gave another injection but the anesthetic was not very strong and I could still feel the cold air he blew on my tooth. He told me that it was the strongest anesthetic he stocked. He insisted that I should once again let him drill and if I still needed another injection, "no problem". Again, unbelievable pain. He had to stop drilling and was argumentative about giving another injection. He would not give another. Instead he asked me "what I wanted to do?" "Let him finish the procedure or stop?" It was a strange response from a professional. What could I do at this point? Get up and walk out with a hole in my tooth? He had to put in the new filling without properly drilling the hole in the tooth and told me it would not be a good, strong filling and perhaps not last very long.

The entire time I was perspiring profusely and my fists were clenched. There was an uneasy tension in the air between the doctor and I. The whole procedure lasted 90 minutes. The pain lasted for at least the next 12 hours and I could not tolerate anything hot or cold in my mouth or chew for another 2 days.

For me it is a no brainer. Make the patient comfortable, relaxed, and pain-free and they will come back. He was not the first dentist in Thailand to argue with me about giving pain medicine.

[chiang mai]

Another, and possibly cheaper, option is the Payon Dental Clinic - Dr. J

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5223311

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5651287

After reading the above recommendations I have now attended on several occasions and found ithe clinic fine in terms of competence, price and parking.

Check with poster elektrified, he very recently reported a really painfull dental experience.

chiang mai must be a mind reader because I never mentioned the name of the clinic!

(Please note that in post #9 I did reinforce that the dentist in question was not known).

[mesquite]

Another, and possibly cheaper, option is the Payon Dental Clinic - Dr. J

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5223311

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5651287

After reading the above recommendations I have now attended on several occasions and found ithe clinic fine in terms of competence, price and parking.

Check with poster elektrified, he very recently reported a really painfull dental experience.

chiang mai must be a mind reader because I never mentioned the name of the clinic!

But I can not recommend the clinic. The doctor is nice and I will say that he was experienced (about 10 years) and had a steady hand. On the day of my appointment to have a filling replaced the doctor gave me the first injection of anesthetic and didn't even inject the complete vial. (I had discussed pain issues with him at the initial appointment a few days before and he assured me he would be ready to deal with any situation.) I asked that he give the complete vial and then a 2nd one. That started a bit of a disagreement and 'a back and forth' with him and I. He insisted he begin drilling into my tooth and if I needed more medicine then "no problem". I almost went through the ceiling. The pain was unbelievable! He gave another injection but the anesthetic was not very strong and I could still feel the cold air he blew on my tooth. He told me that it was the strongest anesthetic he stocked. He insisted that I should once again let him drill and if I still needed another injection, "no problem". Again, unbelievable pain. He had to stop drilling and was argumentative about giving another injection. He would not give another. Instead he asked me "what I wanted to do?" "Let him finish the procedure or stop?" It was a strange response from a professional. What could I do at this point? Get up and walk out with a hole in my tooth? He had to put in the new filling without properly drilling the hole in the tooth and told me it would not be a good, strong filling and perhaps not last very long.

The entire time I was perspiring profusely and my fists were clenched. There was an uneasy tension in the air between the doctor and I. The whole procedure lasted 90 minutes. The pain lasted for at least the next 12 hours and I could not tolerate anything hot or cold in my mouth or chew for another 2 days.

For me it is a no brainer. Make the patient comfortable, relaxed, and pain-free and they will come back. He was not the first dentist in Thailand to argue with me about giving pain medicine.

My formula for the correct amount of local anesthetic is: Determine how much it would take to kill me, then back it off just a little bit.

[mcgriffith]

Been a customer at Grace since I moved here 6+ yrs ago.

In that time, I've had:

Emergency root canal surgery (they saved the tooth)

A crown.

A root canal under a US done crown.

Another crown.

And myriad routine procedures, such as thrice yearly periodontal cleanings, etc.

Although I am American, I inherited my mother's family crap English teeth, and it has been a lifelong struggle keeping them in my head. At nearly age 61, happy to say I still have them all.

I think some people who go to Grace are fixated on seeing only the big gun owner.

Each dentist who works there (almost all are female, and professors at the CMU dental college) charge whatever fees they want.

With all my myriad procedures over the years, I have had various dentists, all of whom were excellent, and I question anyone stating that the pricing is twice other dental clinics. I don't need the founder/head of the firm/rock star to do a simple perio cleaning. Each dentist in that office has a clear area of expertise. You go with whoever is available in that area. They are all good at Grace.

I always ask many friends here who have had procedures done at other dental clinics how much they paid; I would guesstimate that Grace is maybe at most 20% more than the bog standard clinic. Not double, not even 50% more.

I am OK with that, as it is maybe more hygienic than the best office in the US I've ever visited, a very pleasant and relaxing environment, with very modern equipment, and the staff are super efficient and friendly.

Grace has my vote 100%

[chiang mai]

Been a customer at Grace since I moved here 6+ yrs ago.

In that time, I've had:

Emergency root canal surgery (they saved the tooth)

A crown.

A root canal under a US done crown.

Another crown.

And myriad routine procedures, such as thrice yearly periodontal cleanings, etc.

Although I am American, I inherited my mother's family crap English teeth, and it has been a lifelong struggle keeping them in my head. At nearly age 61, happy to say I still have them all.

I think some people who go to Grace are fixated on seeing only the big gun owner.

Each dentist who works there (almost all are female, and professors at the CMU dental college) charge whatever fees they want.

With all my myriad procedures over the years, I have had various dentists, all of whom were excellent, and I question anyone stating that the pricing is twice other dental clinics. I don't need the founder/head of the firm/rock star to do a simple perio cleaning. Each dentist in that office has a clear area of expertise. You go with whoever is available in that area. They are all good at Grace.

I always ask many friends here who have had procedures done at other dental clinics how much they paid; I would guesstimate that Grace is maybe at most 20% more than the bog standard clinic. Not double, not even 50% more.

I am OK with that, as it is maybe more hygienic than the best office in the US I've ever visited, a very pleasant and relaxing environment, with very modern equipment, and the staff are super efficient and friendly.

Grace has my vote 100%

I based my quote of Grace being twice as expensive as Elite Smile on the cost of cleaning, Elite recently charged me 800 baht whereas last year Grace charged me 1,600, whether or not all other costs follow a similar pattern I do not know but presumably the scales are similar. I haven't bothered to compare them yet but here are the price lists from each:

http://www.gracedent...celist-eng.html

http://www.elitesmilecm.com/fee.html

Just glancing at some of the costs I see that Grace is about 50% more expensive, anterior root canal is 4K vs 6K, and whitening is 7.5K vs 12k.

Edited October 20, 2012 by chiang mai

[Rancid]

Another, and possibly cheaper, option is the Payon Dental Clinic - Dr. J

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5223311

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5651287

After reading the above recommendations I have now attended on several occasions and found ithe clinic fine in terms of competence, price and parking.

Check with poster elektrified, he very recently reported a really painfull dental experience.

chiang mai must be a mind reader because I never mentioned the name of the clinic!

But I can not recommend the clinic. The doctor is nice and I will say that he was experienced (about 10 years) and had a steady hand. On the day of my appointment to have a filling replaced the doctor gave me the first injection of anesthetic and didn't even inject the complete vial. (I had discussed pain issues with him at the initial appointment a few days before and he assured me he would be ready to deal with any situation.) I asked that he give the complete vial and then a 2nd one. That started a bit of a disagreement and 'a back and forth' with him and I. He insisted he begin drilling into my tooth and if I needed more medicine then "no problem". I almost went through the ceiling. The pain was unbelievable! He gave another injection but the anesthetic was not very strong and I could still feel the cold air he blew on my tooth. He told me that it was the strongest anesthetic he stocked. He insisted that I should once again let him drill and if I still needed another injection, "no problem". Again, unbelievable pain. He had to stop drilling and was argumentative about giving another injection. He would not give another. Instead he asked me "what I wanted to do?" "Let him finish the procedure or stop?" It was a strange response from a professional. What could I do at this point? Get up and walk out with a hole in my tooth? He had to put in the new filling without properly drilling the hole in the tooth and told me it would not be a good, strong filling and perhaps not last very long.

The entire time I was perspiring profusely and my fists were clenched. There was an uneasy tension in the air between the doctor and I. The whole procedure lasted 90 minutes. The pain lasted for at least the next 12 hours and I could not tolerate anything hot or cold in my mouth or chew for another 2 days.

For me it is a no brainer. Make the patient comfortable, relaxed, and pain-free and they will come back. He was not the first dentist in Thailand to argue with me about giving pain medicine.

Sounds like you are like me, if the tooth isn't numbed properly then I feel it all, sweats and clenched fists brings back unpleasant memories. I used to use CM Ram until they stuffed up and their manager really couldn't have cared less. That is their attitude, they are busy and they know it, not happy to cop 2nd class treatment, then p*ss off, next please. I went there for 5 years until I ran into that. I liked the dentists but their fascist management system sucks.

[zippydedodah]

went to elite yesterday...been going for 3 yrs now. Got my teeth cleaned, kids teeth cleaned and one cavity filled, 4 x-rays for me and exam and 3 x-rays for wife...total bill was 1800 baht....

x-rays were necessary to determine issues under 2 of my bridges and also to figure out what was going on under a tooth in my wife's mouth... have never experienced unnecessary procedures/charges in 3 yrs of care at Elite Smile.

[mcgriffith]

I pay 1300 B for a cleaning at Grace.

But it is not a simple cleaning, as I have had a life long condition of excessive plaque deposits due to a hyperactive saliva function.

(And yes, I brush 3X daily, floss religiously, and observe a very rigourous course of dental hygiene).

So I see a periodondist, a specialist in gum disorders.

I'm usually in the chair for about 45 min- 1 hr.

Ultrasound and deep root scaling with dental instruments on every tooth, and then a polish.

Every human, and their mouth is different.

What they charge me is more than fair for the effort they expend, in my particular case.

Someone else, with fortunately a less complicated set of circumstances, would be charged less at Grace.

There is a scale, depending on the difficulty, for every procedure there.

What I am charged for is a periodontal cleaning (medium deposits).

Don't go by what you read on their website. It is a rough estimate, no more.

A crown can be all over the map in pricing, depending on what level of difficulty, amount of damage to the underlying tooth structure, is it a re-do, what level of materials you choose (do you want the Mexican steel tooth, or the Swiss gold that was awarded the Nobel Prize in dentistry, Sir?), etc.

I'm sure that other dental practices in CM do a good job too, but for me Grace is the gold standard, and I don't see the founder for every little visit, and pay a very fair price for services that are to me better than most of the dentists I saw in the US for many decades (and I always had top flight practitioners there).

[chiang mai]

You can't have it both ways MG, on the one hand you say that Grace is defintely not double or even 50% more expensive and then you say to ignore the price lists which are only a guide! The fact is that Grace is significantly more expensive for even the most common procedures and whilst the standards and levels of expertise at Grace at very high, I wonder whether they are unique in terms of talent. To my mind the bar needs to be set quite high when measuring health care practioners but then once the required minimum standard has been met there is little practical benefit in offering or attaining anyhting above that level. I feel that Grace and Elite (and others) both pass the profficiency and capability tests thus the only remaining discriminating factor is cost of service. Also, I suspect that most TV posters are not in your fortunate financial position thus they need to feel comfortable that by not going to Grace they do not loose anything in terms of quality or standrads of care, I think that's important.

[endure]

Thanks for all the info...

[kjhbigv]

After not going to a dentist for over 20 years, this dentist restored my faith!

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=chiang+mai&hl=en&ll=18.789741,98.985673&spn=0.001559,0.003047&hnear=Chiang+Mai,+Thailand&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=18.789741,98.985673&panoid=QUB2vwM4D-8f7a4BmJhJ4A&cbp=12,355.77,,0,-2.2

Speaks English, reasonable prices, one man business, but knows his stuff.....had my first route canal treatment there....fine!

Why pay for the "glitz and glamour"?

[uptheos]

You can't have it both ways MG, on the one hand you say that Grace is defintely not double or even 50% more expensive and then you say to ignore the price lists which are only a guide! The fact is that Grace is significantly more expensive for even the most common procedures and whilst the standards and levels of expertise at Grace at very high, I wonder whether they are unique in terms of talent. To my mind the bar needs to be set quite high when measuring health care practioners but then once the required minimum standard has been met there is little practical benefit in offering or attaining anyhting above that level. I feel that Grace and Elite (and others) both pass the profficiency and capability tests thus the only remaining discriminating factor is cost of service. Also, I suspect that most TV posters are not in your fortunate financial position thus they need to feel comfortable that by not going to Grace they do not loose anything in terms of quality or standrads of care, I think that's important.

Some years ago when Dr. Jarunee was at Grace, she passed me on to a youngish guy whom she assured me was quite excellent. Yeah in her dreams, it was an extremely painful experience and I never went back to Grace again.

[mcgriffith]

You can't have it both ways MG, on the one hand you say that Grace is defintely not double or even 50% more expensive and then you say to ignore the price lists which are only a guide! The fact is that Grace is significantly more expensive for even the most common procedures and whilst the standards and levels of expertise at Grace at very high, I wonder whether they are unique in terms of talent. To my mind the bar needs to be set quite high when measuring health care practioners but then once the required minimum standard has been met there is little practical benefit in offering or attaining anyhting above that level. I feel that Grace and Elite (and others) both pass the profficiency and capability tests thus the only remaining discriminating factor is cost of service. Also, I suspect that most TV posters are not in your fortunate financial position thus they need to feel comfortable that by not going to Grace they do not loose anything in terms of quality or standrads of care, I think that's important.

That's fair enough, CM.

I didn't intend to sound so strident in my defense of Grace- perhaps I should have inserted a smiley emoticon in my replies.

I have also used Y&B (behind the Phucome Hotel on a small soi). Had a sudden dental emergency just before Songkran this year (a very painful gum abcess). Went by Grace- they had a sign saying they would be closed for 5 days!

Went to Y&B- they were preparing to close for the holiday as well, but at literally the last minutes before closing agreed to see me.

Was very impressed with their office, and professional expertise.

Really it just comes down to personal preference where you go.

If you are blessed with a largely healthy set of teeth and gums, I'm certain that just about anywhere would be fine.

If you have a more problematic dental health (as I do) then the extra fees charged is money well spent at clinics like Grace.

[circusman]

Another, and possibly cheaper, option is the Payon Dental Clinic - Dr. J

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5223311 Could be he buys his pain meds from India. Half Strength but he doesn't know it.

http://www.thaivisa....st#entry5651287

After reading the above recommendations I have now attended on several occasions and found ithe clinic fine in terms of competence, price and parking.

Check with poster elektrified, he very recently reported a really painfull dental experience.

chiang mai must be a mind reader because I never mentioned the name of the clinic!

But I can not recommend the clinic. The doctor is nice and I will say that he was experienced (about 10 years) and had a steady hand. On the day of my appointment to have a filling replaced the doctor gave me the first injection of anesthetic and didn't even inject the complete vial. (I had discussed pain issues with him at the initial appointment a few days before and he assured me he would be ready to deal with any situation.) I asked that he give the complete vial and then a 2nd one. That started a bit of a disagreement and 'a back and forth' with him and I. He insisted he begin drilling into my tooth and if I needed more medicine then "no problem". I almost went through the ceiling. The pain was unbelievable! He gave another injection but the anesthetic was not very strong and I could still feel the cold air he blew on my tooth. He told me that it was the strongest anesthetic he stocked. He insisted that I should once again let him drill and if I still needed another injection, "no problem". Again, unbelievable pain. He had to stop drilling and was argumentative about giving another injection. He would not give another. Instead he asked me "what I wanted to do?" "Let him finish the procedure or stop?" It was a strange response from a professional. What could I do at this point? Get up and walk out with a hole in my tooth? He had to put in the new filling without properly drilling the hole in the tooth and told me it would not be a good, strong filling and perhaps not last very long.

The entire time I was perspiring profusely and my fists were clenched. There was an uneasy tension in the air between the doctor and I. The whole procedure lasted 90 minutes. The pain lasted for at least the next 12 hours and I could not tolerate anything hot or cold in my mouth or chew for another 2 days.

For me it is a no brainer. Make the patient comfortable, relaxed, and pain-free and they will come back. He was not the first dentist in Thailand to argue with me about giving pain medicine.

[uptheos]

Dr Joy at Elite Smile has excellent ENglish and a very strong reputation, she's a nice lady as well. Lower floor, Pantip Plaza, Channklan Road, about half of the cost of Grace I would guess.

I think Elite must have put up their prices quite a bit since I last looked. http://www.elitesmilecm.com/fee.html

Here are Grace's prices for comparison. http://www.gracedentalclinic.com/pricelist-eng.html

[TheVicar]

Dr Joy at Elite Smile has excellent ENglish and a very strong reputation, she's a nice lady as well. Lower floor, Pantip Plaza, Channklan Road, about half of the cost of Grace I would guess.

I think Elite must have put up their prices quite a bit since I last looked. http://www.elitesmilecm.com/fee.html

Here are Grace's prices for comparison. http://www.gracedent...celist-eng.html

Both of these recommended dentists appear to be in the tourist belt of CM. I suspect that you can find equal care for far less elsewhere. Ask some locals for recommendations. Most CM hospitals also have dental clinics but I do not know about their prices. I have found Lana Hospital to be excellent for medical services; it's private and maybe a bit higher priced than others, but it has good people, it's clean and there are no lines. Ditto for McCormick. Both also have a dental clinic but I haven't used it. Good luck and let us know what you find.

Edited October 24, 2012 by TheVicar