Dentistry in Thailand - A salutary waring from Australia

[rijit]

My dentist in Thailand refused to take x-ray. Said it was an safety hazard.

Then he said I didn't need a cleaning. My teeth were clean.

I use an ultrasound toothbrush and had a dentist in America remark how little plaque my teeth had.

Damn fine service in Thailand (at a public hospital).

Ozzie's been outback too long, 555

I 2 used a hospitals dentistry dept , imo.did a bloody good job Put the dentists work in london to .absolute shame.

Only thing that pissed.me off was

they.insisted the surgery door was

open and felt half the dept was gawping at the token westerner!!

rijit

[F4UCorsair]

I use a Thai dentist, trained in the UK, as many are.

I've had surgery in Thailand, Australian trained surgeon.

Where do we start/stop trusting or not trusting.

As a previous poster said, there is no routine oversight of medical professionals Iin Australia. Investigation is the consequence of complaint/s.

[rijit]

My dentist in Thailand refused to take x-ray. Said it was an safety hazard.

Then he said I didn't need a cleaning. My teeth were clean.

I use an ultrasound toothbrush and had a dentist in America remark how little plaque my teeth had.

Damn fine service in Thailand (at a public hospital).

Ozzie's been outback too long, 555

I 2 used a hospitals dentistry dept , imo.did a bloody good job Put the dentists work in london to .absolute shame.

Only thing that pissed.me off was

they.insisted the surgery door was

open and felt half the dept was gawping at the token westerner!!

rijit

Oh I used st luis hospital

rijit

[rijit]

I use a Thai dentist, trained in the UK, as many are.

I've had surgery in Thailand, Australian trained surgeon.

Where do we start/stop trusting or not trusting.

As a previous poster said, there is no routine oversight of medical professionals Iin Australia. Investigation is the consequence of complaint/s.

Trust a.dentist,,,hmm thats hard for me but this may seem trivial, but in decades of using uk dentists never once did they actually show me what they were about to do or what they had just done, And most of the work recently ie.2 crowns were replacemnents that were badly done in the uk. Comparing uk to thai dentist ive had in st luis Either dentists in thailand are ground breakingly brilliant and exceptional or just doing their job which from my expirence make uk dentists in general just piss poor and dont give a fllying ,,,I know which one i'm going for.

rijit

[cumgranosalum]

The conclusions the OP draws merit examination. The reported problem occurred in Australia, not Thailand. I certainly don't think Thailand is free from the problem of inadequate safety procedures in dental clinics, but there is no actual evidence of that either in the OP's post or in the article. OP implies that there is a an inspection procedure for dental clinics in Oz, but, there is no suggestion of such a system in the article. It was not an inspection that detected the problem, but the complaint of a customer.

As for the recommendations of dental patients or of medical patients in general, they are all worthless because the public is unable to evaluate the quality of the medical care they receive. A large-scale study in the US some years ago showed that 60% of treatments were substandard. In the US hospitals are the best place to contract MRSA largely because doctors refuse to wash their hands as often as they should since it would cost them lost fee income to do so. This is not to suggest that all is necessarily well in the Thai healthcare industry, but that first world care is not all that people think it is.

I'm drawing attention to this event, not because it was in Australia, but because it illustrates firstly that there are systems (in this case, the NSW health Authority) in place there whereby whether through customer complaint or inspection these matters will come to light, whereas in Thailand given the endemic nature of graft and corruption, and absence of such systems, there is little or no chance of this either being detected or coming to light.

This problem i would venture to say also is by no means restricted to the dental arm of Thai healthcare, unless you think that somehow evidence of a problem in Australia is evidence of a problem in Thailand.

What you allege about the Thai healthcare system may be true, but you provide no evidence of any kind. You allege endemic graft and corruption in the Thai healthcare system, but you provide no substantiation of any kind. In the absence of evidence, your view amounts to nothing more than a prejudice. You have not identified any actual problem in Thai healthcare, whether of the dental variety or any other.

Agree. It's just speculative assumptions. I've been "blithely" using medical and dental services in Thailand for at least 15 years without any problem, during which time malpractice suits have proliferated in the west, pharmaceutical companies in the west have used corruption and graft to fast track treatments that are later found to have caused more damage than help for those who blithely assumed them to be safe and efficacious and prices for medical services have become obscene (or in those countries offering free treatment, services have deteriorated).

Of course you need to exercise some caution wherever in the world you seek treatment and you should always expect to be informed and in control of the decision process when you see a doctor or dentist, but the implication that these problems are somehow worse in Thailand than anywhere else is unsubstantiated prejudice.

It's not unsubstantiated - I pointed out that their is no independent regular body or system and no customer comeback either.

If you think this is wrong - show me the body.

[timendres]

It's important to stress we have no evidence of infection at this point

And there you have it. This looks like a very big scare with no evidence of any infection. Someone got pissed at the dentist, reported him, and the cogs of the overseers are spinning. Nothing wrong with that, of course.

I am not trying to say this is not important. And clearly these guys need to be brought up to standard. But this looks like the media needing more attention than the story.

We all depend on modern medicine. If we did not have it, we would all be toothless and dying in our 40's and 50's the way it was when i was a kid. Today, most see their 60's and many see their 70's and 80's!! All thanks to modern medicine. Surely, we want plenty of good oversight. But there can be no perfection in medicine, and you either accept that, and the risks that go along with it, or you can kindly return to the stone age.

But to sit and wail and moan over the inevitable misfortunes that come with practicing modern medicine is childish and ignorant.

[rijit]

The conclusions the OP draws merit examination. The reported problem occurred in Australia, not Thailand. I certainly don't think Thailand is free from the problem of inadequate safety procedures in dental clinics, but there is no actual evidence of that either in the OP's post or in the article. OP implies that there is a an inspection procedure for dental clinics in Oz, but, there is no suggestion of such a system in the article. It was not an inspection that detected the problem, but the complaint of a customer.

As for the recommendations of dental patients or of medical patients in general, they are all worthless because the public is unable to evaluate the quality of the medical care they receive. A large-scale study in the US some years ago showed that 60% of treatments were substandard. In the US hospitals are the best place to contract MRSA largely because doctors refuse to wash their hands as often as they should since it would cost them lost fee income to do so. This is not to suggest that all is necessarily well in the Thai healthcare industry, but that first world care is not all that people think it is.

I'm drawing attention to this event, not because it was in Australia, but because it illustrates firstly that there are systems (in this case, the NSW health Authority) in place there whereby whether through customer complaint or inspection these matters will come to light, whereas in Thailand given the endemic nature of graft and corruption, and absence of such systems, there is little or no chance of this either being detected or coming to light.

This problem i would venture to say also is by no means restricted to the dental arm of Thai healthcare, unless you think that somehow evidence of a problem in Australia is evidence of a problem in Thailand.

What you allege about the Thai healthcare system may be true, but you provide no evidence of any kind. You allege endemic graft and corruption in the Thai healthcare system, but you provide no substantiation of any kind. In the absence of evidence, your view amounts to nothing more than a prejudice. You have not identified any actual problem in Thai healthcare, whether of the dental variety or any other.

Agree. It's just speculative assumptions. I've been "blithely" using medical and dental services in Thailand for at least 15 years without any problem, during which time malpractice suits have proliferated in the west, pharmaceutical companies in the west have used corruption and graft to fast track treatments that are later found to have caused more damage than help for those who blithely assumed them to be safe and efficacious and prices for medical services have become obscene (or in those countries offering free treatment, services have deteriorated).

Of course you need to exercise some caution wherever in the world you seek treatment and you should always expect to be informed and in control of the decision process when you see a doctor or dentist, but the implication that these problems are somehow worse in Thailand than anywhere else is unsubstantiated prejudice.

It's not unsubstantiated - I pointed out that their is no independent regular body or system and no customer comeback either.

If you think this is wrong - show me the body.

I quess the uk is awash with

regulartly bodies and probably.customer comeback. But it doesnt change that the standard of

work in the uk is relatively piss poor.

rijit

[cumgranosalum]

"Surely, we want plenty of good oversight" - which we don't have in Thailand....

[cumgranosalum]

The conclusions the OP draws merit examination. The reported problem occurred in Australia, not Thailand. I certainly don't think Thailand is free from the problem of inadequate safety procedures in dental clinics, but there is no actual evidence of that either in the OP's post or in the article. OP implies that there is a an inspection procedure for dental clinics in Oz, but, there is no suggestion of such a system in the article. It was not an inspection that detected the problem, but the complaint of a customer.

As for the recommendations of dental patients or of medical patients in general, they are all worthless because the public is unable to evaluate the quality of the medical care they receive. A large-scale study in the US some years ago showed that 60% of treatments were substandard. In the US hospitals are the best place to contract MRSA largely because doctors refuse to wash their hands as often as they should since it would cost them lost fee income to do so. This is not to suggest that all is necessarily well in the Thai healthcare industry, but that first world care is not all that people think it is.

I'm drawing attention to this event, not because it was in Australia, but because it illustrates firstly that there are systems (in this case, the NSW health Authority) in place there whereby whether through customer complaint or inspection these matters will come to light, whereas in Thailand given the endemic nature of graft and corruption, and absence of such systems, there is little or no chance of this either being detected or coming to light.

This problem i would venture to say also is by no means restricted to the dental arm of Thai healthcare, unless you think that somehow evidence of a problem in Australia is evidence of a problem in Thailand.

What you allege about the Thai healthcare system may be true, but you provide no evidence of any kind. You allege endemic graft and corruption in the Thai healthcare system, but you provide no substantiation of any kind. In the absence of evidence, your view amounts to nothing more than a prejudice. You have not identified any actual problem in Thai healthcare, whether of the dental variety or any other.

Agree. It's just speculative assumptions. I've been "blithely" using medical and dental services in Thailand for at least 15 years without any problem, during which time malpractice suits have proliferated in the west, pharmaceutical companies in the west have used corruption and graft to fast track treatments that are later found to have caused more damage than help for those who blithely assumed them to be safe and efficacious and prices for medical services have become obscene (or in those countries offering free treatment, services have deteriorated).

Of course you need to exercise some caution wherever in the world you seek treatment and you should always expect to be informed and in control of the decision process when you see a doctor or dentist, but the implication that these problems are somehow worse in Thailand than anywhere else is unsubstantiated prejudice.

It's not unsubstantiated - I pointed out that their is no independent regular body or system and no customer comeback either.

If you think this is wrong - show me the body.

I quess the uk is awash with

regulartly bodies and probably.customer comeback. But it doesnt change that the standard of

work in the uk is relatively piss poor.

rijit

That is rubbish - the UK has one of the best healthcare systems in the world, the reason you hear so much about it, is because people are continually monitoring, debating and working on it...doctors are held to account etc etc. THere is NO healthcare system that doesn't F888K up from time to time and part of the point I'm making is that it is extremely unlikely we would ever hear about it in Thailand compared to other countries...if there is an ABSENCE of publicly exposed problems then you need to worry.

[rijit]

The conclusions the OP draws merit examination. The reported problem occurred in Australia, not Thailand. I certainly don't think Thailand is free from the problem of inadequate safety procedures in dental clinics, but there is no actual evidence of that either in the OP's post or in the article. OP implies that there is a an inspection procedure for dental clinics in Oz, but, there is no suggestion of such a system in the article. It was not an inspection that detected the problem, but the complaint of a customer.

As for the recommendations of dental patients or of medical patients in general, they are all worthless because the public is unable to evaluate the quality of the medical care they receive. A large-scale study in the US some years ago showed that 60% of treatments were substandard. In the US hospitals are the best place to contract MRSA largely because doctors refuse to wash their hands as often as they should since it would cost them lost fee income to do so. This is not to suggest that all is necessarily well in the Thai healthcare industry, but that first world care is not all that people think it is.

I'm drawing attention to this event, not because it was in Australia, but because it illustrates firstly that there are systems (in this case, the NSW health Authority) in place there whereby whether through customer complaint or inspection these matters will come to light, whereas in Thailand given the endemic nature of graft and corruption, and absence of such systems, there is little or no chance of this either being detected or coming to light.

This problem i would venture to say also is by no means restricted to the dental arm of Thai healthcare, unless you think that somehow evidence of a problem in Australia is evidence of a problem in Thailand.

What you allege about the Thai healthcare system may be true, but you provide no evidence of any kind. You allege endemic graft and corruption in the Thai healthcare system, but you provide no substantiation of any kind. In the absence of evidence, your view amounts to nothing more than a prejudice. You have not identified any actual problem in Thai healthcare, whether of the dental variety or any other.

Agree. It's just speculative assumptions. I've been "blithely" using medical and dental services in Thailand for at least 15 years without any problem, during which time malpractice suits have proliferated in the west, pharmaceutical companies in the west have used corruption and graft to fast track treatments that are later found to have caused more damage than help for those who blithely assumed them to be safe and efficacious and prices for medical services have become obscene (or in those countries offering free treatment, services have deteriorated).

Of course you need to exercise some caution wherever in the world you seek treatment and you should always expect to be informed and in control of the decision process when you see a doctor or dentist, but the implication that these problems are somehow worse in Thailand than anywhere else is unsubstantiated prejudice.

It's not unsubstantiated - I pointed out that their is no independent regular body or system and no customer comeback either.

If you think this is wrong - show me the body.

I quess the uk is awash with

regulartly bodies and probably.customer comeback. But it doesnt change that the standard of

work in the uk is relatively piss poor.

rijit

That is rubbish - the UK has one of the best healthcare systems in the world, the reason you hear so much about it, is because people are continually monitoring, debating and working on it...doctors are held to account etc etc. THere is NO healthcare system that doesn't F888K up from time to time and part of the point I'm making is that it is extremely unlikely we would ever hear about it in Thailand compared to other countries...if there is an ABSENCE of publicly exposed problems then you need to worry.

Monitor debate regulate expose, all you want. it hasnt improved the standard of work carried by uk dentists who from what i gather by word of mouth have accumulated a pretty pisspoor international reputation as well as a v poor one domestically

rijit

Edited July 6, 2015 by rijit

[pattayasnowman]

This whole notion that you can contact HIV/AIDs from a visit to the dentist is total alarmist garbage.

There is no evidence to support this

There is no study that has shown that HIV is the cause of AIDS

The so called HIV Virus has never been isolated and consequently observed with Electron Microscopy

Time to put an end to the great AIDS swindle that has lasted now over 30 years and consumed 1/2 trillion dollars in bogus research funding in the states alone

[cumgranosalum]

This whole notion that you can contact HIV/AIDs from a visit to the dentist is total alarmist garbage.

There is no evidence to support this

There is no study that has shown that HIV is the cause of AIDS

The so called HIV Virus has never been isolated and consequently observed with Electron Microscopy

Time to put an end to the great AIDS swindle that has lasted now over 30 years and consumed 1/2 trillion dollars in bogus research funding in the states alone

Firstly that's not what the OP is about and secondly your opinions on HIV are those of a crank.....

[matman]

I had a broken crown at the front, as a result I could not retain my partial denture. I was recomended to contact an ex Pat at Si Ratcha hospital where he was a senior administrator. He made an appointment for me within the week, and although I didn't know him he took the trouble to meet me in the Dental Suite prior to my appointment, The crown could not be saved and so was extracted at this visit. A month later I had an appointment for the impression to be taken for my denture. Seven days later my new partial denture was fitted and a perfect fit.

Three years later the crown next to the one I had extracted broke (chewing on a 'Yorkie' chocolate bar !!),

As I was in the UK at the time I emailed my contact at Si Ratcha asking him to make me an appointment for a few days after my arrival back in Thailand. When I arrived for my appointment I saw the same lady dentist who had dealt with me last time (who spoke perfect English). I went through exactly the same procedures as before with the same excellent results. In both of these cases I felt neither pain or discomfort and bleeding following the extractions was minimal.

At 70 years old I have unfortunately had considerable experience with dentists, an example of which was that my first extraction was done with Chloriform being used to knock me out !!. In my 40's I found an excellent young dentist in the UK who was a real 'artist', sadly being so good he was able to leave the NHS and be in private practice, his fees sadly beyond my means.

I can only say that from my own experience the attention I recieved at Si Ratcha hospital was without doubt the best I have ever had. And I have to say I was pleasantly pleased with the charges

[h90]

This whole notion that you can contact HIV/AIDs from a visit to the dentist is total alarmist garbage.

There is no evidence to support this

There is no study that has shown that HIV is the cause of AIDS

The so called HIV Virus has never been isolated and consequently observed with Electron Microscopy

Time to put an end to the great AIDS swindle that has lasted now over 30 years and consumed 1/2 trillion dollars in bogus research funding in the states alone

the HIV virus has been isolated, its surface structure and DNA is well known and I am sure someone looked at it in the Electron Microscope.

[cumgranosalum]

I had a broken crown at the front, as a result I could not retain my partial denture. I was recomended to contact an ex Pat at Si Ratcha hospital where he was a senior administrator. He made an appointment for me within the week, and although I didn't know him he took the trouble to meet me in the Dental Suite prior to my appointment, The crown could not be saved and so was extracted at this visit. A month later I had an appointment for the impression to be taken for my denture. Seven days later my new partial denture was fitted and a perfect fit.

Three years later the crown next to the one I had extracted broke (chewing on a 'Yorkie' chocolate bar !!),

As I was in the UK at the time I emailed my contact at Si Ratcha asking him to make me an appointment for a few days after my arrival back in Thailand. When I arrived for my appointment I saw the same lady dentist who had dealt with me last time (who spoke perfect English). I went through exactly the same procedures as before with the same excellent results. In both of these cases I felt neither pain or discomfort and bleeding following the extractions was minimal.

At 70 years old I have unfortunately had considerable experience with dentists, an example of which was that my first extraction was done with Chloriform being used to knock me out !!. In my 40's I found an excellent young dentist in the UK who was a real 'artist', sadly being so good he was able to leave the NHS and be in private practice, his fees sadly beyond my means.

I can only say that from my own experience the attention I recieved at Si Ratcha hospital was without doubt the best I have ever had. And I have to say I was pleasantly pleased with the charges

...and completely irrelevant to the OP!

[h90]

I had a broken crown at the front, as a result I could not retain my partial denture. I was recomended to contact an ex Pat at Si Ratcha hospital where he was a senior administrator. He made an appointment for me within the week, and although I didn't know him he took the trouble to meet me in the Dental Suite prior to my appointment, The crown could not be saved and so was extracted at this visit. A month later I had an appointment for the impression to be taken for my denture. Seven days later my new partial denture was fitted and a perfect fit.

Three years later the crown next to the one I had extracted broke (chewing on a 'Yorkie' chocolate bar !!),

As I was in the UK at the time I emailed my contact at Si Ratcha asking him to make me an appointment for a few days after my arrival back in Thailand. When I arrived for my appointment I saw the same lady dentist who had dealt with me last time (who spoke perfect English). I went through exactly the same procedures as before with the same excellent results. In both of these cases I felt neither pain or discomfort and bleeding following the extractions was minimal.

At 70 years old I have unfortunately had considerable experience with dentists, an example of which was that my first extraction was done with Chloriform being used to knock me out !!. In my 40's I found an excellent young dentist in the UK who was a real 'artist', sadly being so good he was able to leave the NHS and be in private practice, his fees sadly beyond my means.

I can only say that from my own experience the attention I recieved at Si Ratcha hospital was without doubt the best I have ever had. And I have to say I was pleasantly pleased with the charges

I had an infected implant (which I got in Europe) and it was a sure goner. The good dentist tried to rescue it, but warned me that the chance is below 10% but it is still worth to try. It cost something like 2000-3000 Baht and it was successful.

The standard procedure would have been to take it out and make a new one at 2000-4000 USD.

She talked pretty seriously in a no nonsense way what the consequences are if I don't do that dental care she recommends (but not get any money for it). As I followed it, she get only minimal money for me for a cleaning and check once a while and is very cheerful that everything is stable and don't need any treatment........Definitely she is a very poor business woman not taking more money from me......

[atyclb]

The dental and medical care i have received in thailand has always been excellent, i have never relied on any watchdog or government bureu to tell me that this hospital is ok and this one is shoddy.. Place like bangkok-pataya and bumangrad are just good and i dont worry as their reputation is good, my wife uses the government provided system and although she has to wait forever~ the treatment is good. If they have these govt watchdogs in america-it doesn't work and all the doctors just rely on medical malpractice insurance..as weather they are good or bad, they're going to get hit with frivolous lawsuits anyways-which drives costs up for everyone else and this IS the corruption in the american medical care. It makes medical care expensive, of poorer quality, and then you can still get screwed by a bad doctor-what difference does it make to him he's got the insurance and even sthe good doctors face frivilous lawsuits so how do you tell the difference?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Commission

Joint Commission International, or JCI, is one of the groups providing international healthcare accreditation services to hospitals around the world and brings income into the U.S.-based parent organization. This not-for-profit tax-exempt private corporation (a 501© organization) currently accredits hospitals in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America, and is seeking to expand its business further.^[30]

The JCI has a small staff which includes principal consultants ^[31] and a number of other consultants from around the world such as John Wocher of the Kameda Medical Center in Japan,.^[32]

JCI also offers a variety of educational programs, especially "Practicums" – more information, including attendance costs, is available through their Web site.^[33]

There are other accreditation organisations based in countries other than the USA which fulfill a similar internationally orientated role to JCI. These include:

• Accreditation Canada^[34]
• The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards or ACHS^[35]
• QHA Trent Accreditation (based in the United Kingdom)^[36]

• In INDIA National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers or NABH^[37]

[bazza40]

This whole notion that you can contact HIV/AIDs from a visit to the dentist is total alarmist garbage.

There is no evidence to support this

There is no study that has shown that HIV is the cause of AIDS

The so called HIV Virus has never been isolated and consequently observed with Electron Microscopy

Time to put an end to the great AIDS swindle that has lasted now over 30 years and consumed 1/2 trillion dollars in bogus research funding in the states alone

The link between HIV infection and exchange of bodily fluids is well known. While it's unlikely, the possibility does exist that re-use of dental equipment without appropriate sterilization could result in HIV transfer from an infected patient to another patient. That's why some dentists in Thailand ask clients to state they are HIV-free.

There is no demonstrable causal link between smoking and lung cancer; only the statistically inconvenient observation that smokers are 20 times more likely to die of lung cancer than non-smokers. Possibly you could explain how one develops AIDS without being HIV-positive first.

Perhaps you could also join the ranks of the climate change deniers, so you could add to your array of anti-science beliefs. Oh yes, nearly forgot - are you an anti-fluoride campaigner as well?

[cumgranosalum]

The dental and medical care i have received in thailand has always been excellent, i have never relied on any watchdog or government bureu to tell me that this hospital is ok and this one is shoddy.. Place like bangkok-pataya and bumangrad are just good and i dont worry as their reputation is good, my wife uses the government provided system and although she has to wait forever~ the treatment is good. If they have these govt watchdogs in america-it doesn't work and all the doctors just rely on medical malpractice insurance..as weather they are good or bad, they're going to get hit with frivolous lawsuits anyways-which drives costs up for everyone else and this IS the corruption in the american medical care. It makes medical care expensive, of poorer quality, and then you can still get screwed by a bad doctor-what difference does it make to him he's got the insurance and even sthe good doctors face frivilous lawsuits so how do you tell the difference?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Commission

Joint Commission International, or JCI, is one of the groups providing international healthcare accreditation services to hospitals around the world and brings income into the U.S.-based parent organization. This not-for-profit tax-exempt private corporation (a 501© organization) currently accredits hospitals in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America, and is seeking to expand its business further.^[30]

The JCI has a small staff which includes principal consultants ^[31] and a number of other consultants from around the world such as John Wocher of the Kameda Medical Center in Japan,.^[32]

JCI also offers a variety of educational programs, especially "Practicums" – more information, including attendance costs, is available through their Web site.^[33]

There are other accreditation organisations based in countries other than the USA which fulfill a similar internationally orientated role to JCI. These include:

• Accreditation Canada^[34]
• The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards or ACHS^[35]
• QHA Trent Accreditation (based in the United Kingdom)^[36]

• In INDIA National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers or NABH^[37]

The JCI - is basically a rubber stamping organisation of hospitals outside the US it is run by the US parent company and has little or no real merit in helping to decide if a hospital is any good - it does no unannounced surveying and never fails anyone.

There is a large amount of criticism of the value of this organisation -- just do a bit of background research on th org and you'll see it really is of little value in determining how good a hospital really is.

[rijit]

Strange though in unregulated thailand the standard of dental work is far higher than in the suposedly highly regulated uk.

rijit

[rijit]

Oh and funnily enuf the same goes for india.

rijit

[Sheryl]

While poor quality dentists can be found they are in my expetience the exception rather than the rule in Thailand. In 3 decades of observing (and receiving) health care here I have been impressed with the quality of dental services and indeed would rate them higher than other medical services here.

I have very seldom encountered anyone suffering adverse effects from poor dental work here...but often encountered people suffering negative consequences of putting off needed dental work out of fear. Threads like this are counterproductive in that respect. Certainly one needs to choose health care providers of any sort with care and trust ones instincts if something seems "off"...here or anywhere in the world. But there is no need for undue hesitation in getting care if needed.

[aboctok]

When people recommend dentists in Thailand they do so without any real medical expertise.

the recommendations are usually based firstly on cost and then the lack of pain.

Don't people everywhere nearly always recommend dentists that way? I've never had a dentist recommended to me by a health professional. I've only had dentists recommended to me by their patients, and always according to the two criteria of cost and lack of pain, though usually in reverse order.

The ABC article raises issues that must be of concern to people who visit dentists anywhere, but what does that have to do with the way that dentists are recommended? No one mentioned in the article, including the health authorities, advocates any kind of official system to replace the way that people personally recommend dentists to each other. Isn't that just a normal social practice that no one will ever be able to change? And how does this relate especially to dentistry in Thailand? I'm grateful for the personal recommendations regarding local Thai dentists that I've received on several occasions. I wouldn't want to replace that with some kind of official rating from a government department, etc.

Edited July 19, 2015 by aboctok

[cumgranosalum]

despite my typo on the title, this is a warning....it's up to you if you heed it or not.

I think I've explained quite clearly how it pertains to Thailand in particular. (NB - this is a Thai forum too)

[F4UCorsair]

Is it possible that the standard of dental practice/hygiene in Thailand is of a very high standard, comparable with, or possibly better than, some/many western countries?

There seems to be a proliferation of posters here who bucket everything Thai, regardless of their knowledge of the specific subject on which they are commenting.

I've been seeing a Thai dentist for about 6 years, and find the standard of work, and level of hygiene as good as at home. The female dentist I see was trained in the UK, and several others in the surgery are US and Australian trained, even one in new Zealand.

I initially came to Thailand because of what I saw as a lack of knowledge in my own dentist in Australia. He was BSing me because he'd screwed up a previous root canal job, and I wasn't prepared to cop that at $600 an hour.

[cumgranosalum]

Is it possible that the standard of dental practice/hygiene in Thailand is of a very high standard, comparable with, or possibly better than, some/many western countries?

There seems to be a proliferation of posters here who bucket everything Thai, regardless of their knowledge of the specific subject on which they are commenting.

I've been seeing a Thai dentist for about 6 years, and find the standard of work, and level of hygiene as good as at home. The female dentist I see was trained in the UK, and several others in the surgery are US and Australian trained, even one in new Zealand.

I initially came to Thailand because of what I saw as a lack of knowledge in my own dentist in Australia. He was BSing me because he'd screwed up a previous root canal job, and I wasn't prepared to cop that at $600 an hour.

So as a hygiene specialist you have been monitoring that dental surgery? And

I take it you know where and what she studied in the UK? Presumably the full 6 years?

[F4UCorsair]

Yep, that's me, a hygiene specialist. I've been monitoring hygiene in Isaan piggeries, and they all came up trumps.

She studied animal husbandry at the Isaan Piggery College for three months. Will that do?

Why is it that some constantly bucket Thailand, regardless of their knowledge of what they are actually putting $hit on?? Thailand may not be all good, but it's also not all bad.

On my first visit, I noticed her degree on the wall. I suppose a nay sayer like you would contend that it was knocked up in Khao San Road, a little like the English teachers who couldn't cut the mustard and earn a real degree back home??

Also on my first visit, and every visit since, she shows me the sealed autoclave bag with the instruments she will use. The colour of the tab has changed indicating that it has been sterilized at the required temperature for the required time.

I don't know why guys like you bother with life, not believing anybody or anything, so negative....you should just slit your wrists and be done with it.

I'm more than happy with the dental services I've had in Bangkok, and it matters not a dot that you feel it necessary to pour scorn on what I post. As I said in my earlier post, I first visited a dentist in Thailand because of substandard work back home, and I haven't been disappointed. I'm sorry to disappoint you by telling you that.

Edited July 31, 2015 by F4UCorsair

[konying]

Nothing but scare mongering as dentists in Australia are loosing hundreds of patients and millions of dollars.

Most clinics have sterilisation machines and most are cleaner , better and more efficient than dentists in Australia , not to mention 10 times cheaper .

I recall 20 years ago , visiting dental specialist , he looked at my teeth no longer than 3 minutes. $350 thank you .

Medicare covered $60.

Of course they do not want you going to Thailand when they can make $300 just looking at your mouth.

[watcharacters]

I would also be concerned with tattoos in Thailand. There again a person could seek an artist because he does good work. Yet the shops often dont have an autoclave, a machine that steam santizes medical equipment. Some do, most dont.

Thinking its enough that new needles are being used. Its not. The artist could have a dirt gun.

Also, Ink or rather high quality ink is expensive in Thailand I dont know if I would trust just anyone not to pour the ink back into the bottle.

And.....microwaves are not autoclaves....

I think this problem is pretty ell established, but people fail to realise that in regards to healthcare in Thailand there is very little - if any - monitoring by independent bodies and comeback is virtually unheard of.... given the endemic nature of graft and corruption in Thiland, even if it was "discovered" it would be very unikey to get the "oxygen of publicity"

If you go to the cheapest dentist in Thailand you may get some cheap service. If you go to an expensive one, you get the same service as at an expensive one in Farangistan. Just expensive in Thailand is 1/3 the money than expensive in Farangland.

OK

Australia is Farangland?

[watcharacters]

When people recommend dentists in Thailand they do so without any real medical expertise.

the recommendations are usually based firstly on cost and then the lack of pain.

Don't people everywhere nearly always recommend dentists that way? I've never had a dentist recommended to me by a health professional. I've only had dentists recommended to me by their patients, and always according to the two criteria of cost and lack of pain, though usually in reverse order.

The ABC article raises issues that must be of concern to people who visit dentists anywhere, but what does that have to do with the way that dentists are recommended? No one mentioned in the article, including the health authorities, advocates any kind of official system to replace the way that people personally recommend dentists to each other. Isn't that just a normal social practice that no one will ever be able to change? And how does this relate especially to dentistry in Thailand? I'm grateful for the personal recommendations regarding local Thai dentists that I've received on several occasions. I wouldn't want to replace that with some kind of official rating from a government department, etc.

Well

As time passes it becomes more and more possible to read reviews on sites to hear of the experiences of others. Hopefully that may be of value to some.