Dentists in Taiwan: FAQ and Resources

Life Health & Fitness
161

[quote=“michaelcrace”]I have no desire to rain on these dentists parade but anyone getting their teeth done need to go to either the Philippines or India. I have a retired Marine Corp. friend who needed a whole mouth full of work done including 4 implants. He was quoted 32,000 in the US. He was quoted 28,000 in Taiwan. He got it all done in Manila from a Doctor who graduated from USC in the States for 4700.00 US.

Dentists here and in the states are a rip.[/quote]
NT$141,000 for a dentist in MANILA??? Damn, your buddy sure got ripped off and NO mistake! :laughing:
I dunno how much you pay for dental work where you come from, but compared to where I’m originally from (UK), dental prices here are ANYTHING but “a rip!” :unamused:

162

[quote=“sandman”][quote=“michaelcrace”]I have no desire to rain on these dentists parade but anyone getting their teeth done need to go to either the Philippines or India. I have a retired Marine Corp. friend who needed a whole mouth full of work done including 4 implants. He was quoted 32,000 in the US. He was quoted 28,000 in Taiwan. He got it all done in Manila from a Doctor who graduated from USC in the States for 4700.00 US.

Dentists here and in the states are a rip.[/quote]
NT$141,000 for a dentist in MANILA??? Damn, your buddy sure got ripped off and NO mistake! :laughing:
I dunno how much you pay for dental work where you come from, but compared to where I’m originally from (UK), dental prices here are ANYTHING but “a rip!” :unamused:[/quote]
Really? US$4700 for extensive dental work including four implants sounds very reasonable to me. Do you know what implants cost? Oh, wait you said “sure” so you must know what you’re talking about, and of course nobody would use a rolling eyes emoticon unless they were 100% sure. God knows, I’ve not used one in my eight years of posting.

163

[quote=“almas john”][quote=“sandman”][quote=“michaelcrace”]I have no desire to rain on these dentists parade but anyone getting their teeth done need to go to either the Philippines or India. I have a retired Marine Corp. friend who needed a whole mouth full of work done including 4 implants. He was quoted 32,000 in the US. He was quoted 28,000 in Taiwan. He got it all done in Manila from a Doctor who graduated from USC in the States for 4700.00 US.

Dentists here and in the states are a rip.[/quote]
NT$141,000 for a dentist in MANILA??? Damn, your buddy sure got ripped off and NO mistake! :laughing:
I dunno how much you pay for dental work where you come from, but compared to where I’m originally from (UK), dental prices here are ANYTHING but “a rip!” :unamused:[/quote]
Really? US$4700 for extensive dental work including four implants sounds very reasonable to me. Do you know what implants cost? Oh, wait you said “sure” so you must know what you’re talking about, and of course nobody would use a rolling eyes emoticon unless they were 100% sure. God knows, I’ve not used one in my eight years of posting.[/quote]
Sure thing. 4700 seems reasonable. I was just questioning passing up on 28,000 in Taiwan for 141,000 in the Philippines. But perhaps he was quoting the Taiwan figure in US dollars, in which case, yeah, NT$800,000 is a tad steep. Still, I’ve had a bunch of stuff done here and was never quoted anywhere even CLOSE to a figure like that, so the idea that dental prices here are a rip is still strange, to me. :unamused:

164

“Reasonable” now is it? I see, the “ripped off” was purely a comparative. I think we can assume that the NT$28,000 figure is wrong - missing a zero I would guess. As for the rolling eyes - you must really LOVE your job.

[color=#008000]Moderator’s note: Let’s be civil gentlemen. We’re just talking about teeth, for Pete’s sake.[/color]

165

Just a comment from a U.S. dentist visiting Taiwan…

I don’t know what kind of corners are being cut if it costs just $4700US for “extensive dental work” and 4 implants, but for anyone looking to get high-quality dental care in the U.S. for reasonable fees, I recommend checking out the dental schools.

U.S. dental schools charge a lot less than private-practice dentists, and the work is top-notch-- The dental students who perform the procedures are fully supervised during every step of a procedure and are not allowed to cut corners in any way, shape or form-- when was the last time anyone has seen a private-practice dentist use a rubber dam for proper moisure isolation, for instance?

The only downside is that a patient visit at a U.S. dental school takes a lot of time because of the supervision.

Frankly, as a dentist myself, I would rather have a U.S.-trained dentist who follows our standard of care take care of my teeth.

166

Which is why many of us go to U.S.-trained dentists here…

Good point about the dental schools, though. I used to go to one in the UK, and got some very good treatment.

167

[quote=“Joesox”]Which is why many of us go to U.S.-trained dentists here…

Good point about the dental schools, though. I used to go to one in the UK, and got some very good treatment.[/quote]
I went to one in Edinburgh and the student shoved the needle all the way through my cheek and out the other side so the novocaine or whatever dripped down the side of my neck. She didn’t notice and neither did the supervisor. That was an… interesting experience!

168

[quote=“sandman”]
I went to one in Edinburgh and the student shoved the needle all the way through my cheek and out the other side so the novocaine or whatever dripped down the side of my neck. She didn’t notice and neither did the supervisor. That was an… interesting experience![/quote]

Somebody didn’t bother reading her textbook then! The place where you inject to numb one entire side of the lower jaw is right next to the back of your jawbone on its inner surface (the ramus of your mandible, if one wants to get technical), where the nerve goes into the jawbone. Inserting the needle next to the inside surface of the jawbone means zero chance of it poking out your cheek. :smiley:

That dental student must have missed by a mile, and the supervisor probably got distracted. It is not a difficult injection to make and I’ve never had any problems administering it.

Just about the only dental school in the U.S. where I’d expect something like that to happen would be the dental school at UNLV, which is right next to the Las Vegas Strip… Imagine a dental student blasted from a night of partying at a casino having to work a clinical rotation the next day, LOL… :smiley:

169

This is a very modern dentist clinic here and it’s in Central Taipei, easy to get to prospectdental.com.tw/ (02) 2781-7602 (for the Bade road clinic, as they have a few more).
Ask for Dr Chi-Yuan Hong, he speaks English and if anyone cares, he’s got a degree or three from Harvard and also works for NTUH.

170

I recently moved to Jhubei near Xinchu and really wanted to find a dentist that:

  1. spoke English
  2. had a clean office
  3. would clean teeth similar to the US

Luckily, we have old friends in the area and their daughter recommended Dr. Sophia Langford, Prevail Dental Office, Xinshu. Here is their website:
prevail-dental.com

I now have THI so the usual amount of $150 was collectd up front. When I met with Sophia (who by the way is Asian but trained in the US and moved to Taiwan several years ago because of her husband’s job), I told her that I wanted a more thorough cleaning. For an additional $1000 NT I received a cleaning very much like that in the US. An as nurse, I am picky about cleanliness and sterility and, I felt that this office meets my standards. I highly recommend Sophia and will continue to see her in the future.

171

In Kaohsiung:

North of mainstation near the Hanshan Arena/ Kaoshiung Arena MRT Exit 14. Yucheng Rd.

The MRT lets off and Yucheng and Bo-ai, when you get there head for the gas station and go past it on YUcheng (stay on the side with the gas station), the next street I think is Fuguo and Yucheng there is a xiao bei bai huo小北百貨 (one of those sell all stores) on the corner, just behind that store (still on Yucheng) is a very nice dentist who speaks English.
I forget the name of the place and I don’t have the exact address, but if you need send me a pm and i can draw you a map! (BTE it’s not far from Lighthouse)

172

Deep cleaning by hand is not usually covered by NHI here although there are a few exceptions depending on the specialty of the provider. I only found one dentist who could provide this service with full insurance coverage and he was in an office in Neihu close by to the alleycats there. General care dentists here, cannot do this with full insurance coverage.

173

Upon the recommendation of a friend, I tried a place called MetDent Dental clinic. It’s just a bit north of ShiDa and west of Da-an Park.

162-4 Jinhua St, Da-an District, Taipei
02-23560277

There are 2 dentists there and the English name of the one I had my appointment with was Steven. Both dentists were educated at New York University. The office atmosphere was very pleasant and comfortable, not chaotic like the others I’d been to, and the equipment was probably the most modern I’ve seen here. Michael speaks English fluently (not sure about the other dentist), but unfortunately the receptionist doesn’t.

When I’ve gone to other dentists, I got very little information about the condition of my teeth/gums or about the procedures I was having done. It could have been the language barrier, or just the attitude that they are the doctor and don’t need to explain anything. I had a routine cleaning, x-rays and started the process for an implant and repair a chipped tooth and Michael explained everything very clearly, which I really appreciated. The routine cleaning was fairly typical for Taiwan.

I’ll let you know how the implant goes.

By the way, I have tried NY Dentist, but was not impressed with their office or their service. I also went to Summit Dentistry, which was pretty clean, modern and efficient, but they skimped on a root canal (no temp crown ) which resulted in a broken tooth, more work required and additional cost.

174

Hey, I haven’t been to a dentist in a while, a filling recently fell out, and I’ll probably need more fillings because that’s how I roll. Craig, I look forward to your update, since you tried the two places I was looking into. Does Met-Dent take NHI?

175

Yes, they take NHI.

I had the initial surgery for the implant last Friday. The dentist was so meticulous, not rushed like every other dentist I’ve been to here. There was no pain afterward, just maybe a little tenderness for a couple days.

Highly recommend. :thumbsup:

The only challenge is that although the dentist I went to there, Steven, speaks English fluently, as do the other dentists, I suspect, the receptionist doesn’t. They also haven’t bothered to translate any of the documents into English, For example they have a post-surgery instruction sheet only in Chinese, which the dentist had to stand there and explain to me.

176

Yes, they take NHI.

I had the initial surgery for the implant last Friday. The dentist was so meticulous, not rushed like every other dentist I’ve been to here. There was no pain afterward, just maybe a little tenderness for a couple days.

Highly recommend. :thumbsup:

The only challenge is that although the dentist I went to there, Steven, speaks English fluently, as do the other dentists, I suspect, the receptionist doesn’t. They also haven’t bothered to translate any of the documents into English, For example they have a post-surgery instruction sheet only in Chinese, which the dentist had to stand there and explain to me.[/quote]

What - you’re saying you’re getting your implants on NHI?

I had two dentists and the medical dental school in the WanFang Hospital tell me that implants weren’t available on NHI.

177

[quote=“greenmark”]What - you’re saying you’re getting your implants on NHI?

I had two dentists and the medical dental school in the WanFang Hospital tell me that implants weren’t available on NHI.[/quote]
No. They accept NHI for procedures that NHI covers. Implants are not covered. Sorry if I was unclear.

Their price for implants was comparable to other places.

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178

I woke up a few days ago to having a Tooth abscess on my jaw…I thought I just burned my jaw bad on hot soup… but no… compared to pics online its a tooth abscess. which is a sure sign that I have a dieing nerve probably and will need a root canal.

I made an appointment with the hospital in Gongguan… and I suspect this was not the most brilliant move to do. Based on my experience in the USA, if you need a dentist at a hospital its usually very,very, expensive. I currently do not have insurance here in Taipei. Nor do I know of a good endodontist in Taipei… google had no results.

Can anyone recommend a good endodontist, which is someone who specializes in root canals, nerves of the jaw, etc. and preferably fluent English. Thank you.

179

[quote=“downtownandrew”]I woke up a few days ago to having a Tooth abscess on my jaw…I thought I just burned my jaw bad on hot soup… but no… compared to pics online its a tooth abscess. which is a sure sign that I have a dieing nerve probably and will need a root canal.

I made an appointment with the hospital in Gongguan… and I suspect this was not the most brilliant move to do. Based on my experience in the USA, if you need a dentist at a hospital its usually very,very, expensive. I currently do not have insurance here in Taipei. Nor do I know of a good endodontist in Taipei… google had no results.

Can anyone recommend a good endodontist, which is someone who specializes in root canals, nerves of the jaw, etc. and preferably fluent English. Thank you.[/quote]

Update:
The dentist at the hospital in Gongguan spoke enough English to get by, but he is very limited on what he can do at his “office”.

Just to let people know if they decide to go to the Hospital in Gongguan ( tri-service general hospital) that the dentist area is rather dirty to say the least, the equipment to me did not look to be state of the art.
The room where you sit for your x-ray, I was given a very old and dirty protective cape from the radiation. They had to do the xray twice because of either the equipment or the rookie nurse… I am not sure.

So I would only suggest going here if you need an extraction, filling, and you are in a great deal of pain.

I have abscess tooth, I was basically given antibiotics 500mg of amoxicillin which is bound to give me diarrea at that high of a doseage, and told to wait it out.

Because it was underneath a crown there was not much they could do.

I am not a dentist by any means, but I assume that they could not make a mold of my current tooth and perform another crown after the infection was cleared out. I thought he would suggest a root canal at one point, but he never brought it up, and dismissed it when I asked if I needed one. Which surprised me. I am just happy that at this point I still have my tooth and this dentist didnt just suggest taking it out.

$594 for 2 prescriptions, and “emergency periodontal procedure”… which was a 2 minute cleaning if you even want to call it that, of the tooth.

So it was suggested to me that I go to Taipei Medical University Hospital for them to have a look because the equipment is more up to date, etc. Anyone with experience there?

180

Taipei Medical University Hospital I would recommend. But if you are concerned about feeling like just another number in the qeue, then do not go. If you need pleasant asthetics around you and waterfalls… dont go either. It’s industrial style drilling here: 7 dentists are more all in one room… drilling and all that jazz… but the equipment is up to date and for me the experience was good.