Your first dental appointment in Vietnam

Before you go

Send the clinic your details before you leave Australia.

• Include any recent x rays and a short note from your dentist at home if you have one.
• Ask the clinic to confirm the time, the address and who your dentist is.
• Ask whether the exam and scans cost extra.
• Check the time difference: Ho Chi Minh City is 3 hours behind Sydney outside daylight saving and 4 hours behind during it.

Bring these on the day:

• Your passport.
• A question to plan for: the clinic may ask which medicines you take, so check with them what list they would like to see.
• Any allergies and past health problems, written down.
• Copies of x rays and notes from home.
• The messages and quote the clinic already sent you.

Sources: NSW Communities and Justice, definitions of time; Wikipedia, time in Vietnam.

At the front desk

You may be handed a health form first.

• Fill it in fully, even the parts that seem minor, and list every medicine you take.
• What the answers mean for your care is for the dentist to judge.
• Ask the front desk to confirm the name of the dentist who will see you.
• Check it matches the name you were given, and the name on the practising licence you checked from home.

Our page on licence checks shows how to do that.

In the chair

The dentist will look at your teeth and gums, and may take x rays or, for larger work, a scan of the jaw. Then they explain what they see and what they suggest. Ask your questions slowly and in order:

1. What is the plan, tooth by tooth?
2. How many visits does it need, and how far apart?
3. What brand and material will you use?
4. What are the other options, and why do you suggest this one?
5. What does the price include, and what could add to it?

• Ask for the plan and price on paper or by email before you agree to any work.
• You do not have to decide in the chair.
• You can take the plan away, sleep on it, and send it to your dentist at home for a view.

Language

Vietnamese is the default language for treatment under the 2023 law.

• The law requires an interpreter in some cases, so ask before you book who will explain your plan in English.
• If you are not sure you follow, ask the dentist to slow down, draw it, or write it down.
• Ask for the consent form in English before you sign it.

Sources: Law No. 15/2023/QH15, Vietnam's 2023 medical treatment law, as translated by LuatVietnam.

Paying

Settle the bill with the clinic itself.

• Clinics that treat visitors commonly take Visa, Mastercard, bank transfer and cash.
• Ask which methods the clinic takes and whether a card fee applies.
• Ask whether the bill is in Vietnamese dong or US dollars.
• Ask for a receipt broken down by tooth and by step, since your health fund or insurer may ask for it.
• The 2023 law gives patients the right to a detailed explanation of what they pay for.

Sources: MedicalTourismCo, dental work in Vietnam; Law No. 15/2023/QH15, Vietnam's 2023 medical treatment law, as translated by LuatVietnam.

Your records

The law gives patients the right to read, view and copy their medical records. Before your last visit, ask for:

• The final treatment plan and what was done, tooth by tooth.
• Digital copies of all x rays and scans.
• The brand and batch cards for any implant, crown or veneer.
• The warranty terms, in writing.
• Every receipt.

Keep both paper and digital copies. Give them to your own dentist in Australia or New Zealand at your check up after you get home.

Sources: Law No. 15/2023/QH15, Vietnam's 2023 medical treatment law, as translated by LuatVietnam.

If the plan changes

Sometimes a scan shows something the photos did not, and the plan changes.

• Ask for the new plan and the new price in writing before any extra work starts.
• Ask why it changed.
• If the change is large, it is fine to pause and get a second written opinion, from another clinic or from your dentist at home.

Our guide to choosing a dentist in Vietnam covers how to compare quotes and spot warning signs.