Dentists in Taiwan: FAQ and Resources

I’m looking for a clean dentist in Tainan who will give me a thorough (cleaning, X-rays) checkup before I go on a 3 month trip through Southeast Asia. I’m actually in Yung Kang, a bit to the northeast in Tainan county, but I have no problem with traveling a bit.

I’ve asked my Taiwanese friends, but I don’t think they even consider things like cleanliness or sterilization. They just point at the nearest one and say “that one’s convenient!” or they point at another and say “he’s popular!” I can’t say I have much faith in their recommendations due to Taiwanese standards of cleanliness and the state of their teeth (Sorry).

I’m looking for a very good dentist with good English, in downtown Taipei (I’m in the DunHua N. Rd./Min Sheng E. Rd. area). I ran a check on dentists and came up with a thread over a year old. The recommendations were for:

  1. Dr. Huang, AnAn Clinic
    Hang Zhou South Rd. Sec. 1, 14-1 (near Ren’ai Rd.)
    2356-3427

  2. Dr. Liu Yuan Hao, San-he Clinic (trained in USA)
    16 Siping St., Taipei city.
    2581-5658

  3. Dr. Wei (trained in Australia)
    2F, 2-1 Lane 14 Zhongshan N. Rd Sec. 7
    2875-4012

Has anyone had more recent experience with any of these, or are there any other recommendations? For those familiar with Dr. Wei, is he worth the trip up to Tianmu from downtown?

The one on Roosevelt, Sec 2. New York Dentist. He went to NYU.

Sandman has more info I think.

I think that there’s another thread about this dentist, Alleycat. He’s a top bloke and a very caring dentist. Here’s the contact details:

Roosevelt Rd., Sec. 1, No. 28, 2fl.
Tel: 2395-1658

His name is Dr. Yi, I believe, and he shares the practice with his wife. Both trained, as Alleycat says, in NY.

[quote=“Mark0938”]I think that there’s another thread about this dentist, Alleycat. He’s a top bloke and a very caring dentist. Here’s the contact details:

Roosevelt Rd., Sec. 1, No. 28, 2fl.
Tel: 2395-1658

His name is Dr. Yi, I believe, and he shares the practice with his wife. Both trained, as Alleycat says, in NY.[/quote]

He’s the one for me. I’ve had both him and his wife and would recommend either.

Thanks a lot. I’ll give either Mr. or Mrs. Yi a try.

Saw Dr. Yin (woman) at New York Dental Clinic (recommendation above) on Friday. Good English, good advice. Decided to leave the major work till when I’ve left Taiwan and my health insurance will cover all, although I would otherwise have had no qualms in getting it done by them.

Thanks Alleycat, Mark0938 and Sandman for the recommendation.

I went to the New York Dental Clinic that has been recommended above. I just want to add my recommendation … very friendly, professional, and clean … almost like being at a dentist in America. I had a couple cavities and he filled them, gave me so much novacaine I can’t feel my face, and I’m going back again on Friday for a thorough cleaning. The office is very conveniently located across the street from Exit #3 of the CKS Memorial Hall MRT station, so if anyone’s looking for a good dentist, they’re very good!

Can anyone recommend a good dentist in the Tienmu area? I want to get my teeth cleaned. Can I get flavoured flourides?

I usually go to Gwo Wei Dental Clinic on Chung Cheng Rd.? off of Chung Shan Rd. Sec. 5. They have a listing in Taipei Living. I’ve been going there since I came to Taiwan.

I have a great dentist down town… He is a USC grad, Dr. Alan Tuan, on the corner of DunHwa and Civil. His sister and he share and office and she is a pediatric dentist. I just had major oral surgery with Dr. Tuan and I am very pleased.

Contact me if you want the address and phone number

Aside from the dr.'s alread mentioned, are there any others anyone would recommend close to either the Zhongxiao/Dunhua MRT or the Taipei City Hall MRT?

Also, what should I expect to pay for a wisdom tooth extraction (with NHI)?

[quote=“aprimo”]Aside from the dr.'s alread mentioned, are there any others anyone would recommend close to either the Zhongxiao/Dunhua MRT or the Taipei City Hall MRT?

Also, what should I expect to pay for a wisdom tooth extraction (with NHI)?[/quote]

Just the normal nomimal charge. A few visits then at about NT$300 a visit.

The NY guy did my Wisdom teeth. My bottom right had grown penpindicular to to rest of my teeth; still he managed to get it out, without killing me.

What could have been a disaster at a less experienced/qualified dentist, turned out quiet OK in the end.

I just went in for my first visit to Dr. Alan Tuan at Dunhua/Civic. I had a check-up and cleaning. We spoke English the whole time, he was very informative, and gentle. He accepts NHI, so my visit was only NT$150.

And, his clinic has a tank of smiling goldfish. Take a close look, they really do smile!

I would definitely recommend him (his wife is also a dentist, so I’ve heard, in the same clinic) to foreignors and locals alike.

No new cavities :smiley: , but I have some receding gum on a couple of my teeth. THe doctor said it was because I was brushing too hard. I’ve been brushing the same way for all my life and I’ve been using softer brushes in Taiwan than at home, and yet now I’m getting receding gum? I’ve heard that receding gums are pretty common in Taiwan. Could it be partly (or mostly) due to the water?

How about the NIH card insurance, does it cover braces? How much would I expect to pay?

I’m posting this here because I know that Dr. Hung and NYDC in Taipei are comparing pricing.

Dr. Hung is a skilled dentist. Dr. Hung has spent many years honing his craft in the US. Dr. Hung is a specialist in root canals and crowns. This is Dr. Hung’s mantra and he will repeat it many times.

Unfortunately Dr. Hung is an incredible ass. My fiancee and her parents were so miffed that it cost me NT$8500 to do my root canal they called up the Ministry of Health to find out how much insurance pays for a root canal. We were informed that the national health insurance pays NT$300 for the dentist’s time and NT$1200 per canal. (It’s actually less for multiple canals, but I’m giving Dr. Hung some leeway)

My tooth had 3 canals, so using my basic math skills (You see, us Americans have terrible math skills as Dr. Hung bellowed). Anyway, I can quickly calculate that:

3 canals X NT$1200 = NT$3600 (US$109).

Now let’s even go a step further and calculate Dr. Hung’s extremely amazing skills as a dentist and even a premium price because I don’t have insurance, even though we know what insurance pays for Dr. Hung’s time. (NT$300)

So we calculate:

3 Root Canals: NT$3600
Dr. Hungs Time: NT$2000 (Very generous offer of US$60 / 30 minutes)

Total: NT$5600 (US$169)

So using this information I asked Dr. Hung why he charged me NT$8500 (US$257) in the NICEST way possible and I quote… “Why is the price so much higher?”. His response was screaming at me, demanding that I should be grateful to pay the price, and that he was not screwing me because I was American. (Hrmmm… why would my nationality matter??? I never mentioned it… Hrmmm) I’d like to note that when my fiancee walked into the office about 10 minutes later, he began to scream at her in Chinese.

I’m about as nice as they come, so I calmed him down by repeatedly apologizing that I offended him and that I just wanted information. The clincher for the entire escapde was when I asked for his prices on a crown. Yes folks, I still don’t even have a temporary crown. He quoted me NT$15000 (US$454) or NT$18000 (US$545).

Needless to say, since I’m returning to the US on Friday, I’m going to finish up my dental work stateside. The pricing is the same and my dentist at home is awesome. To all expats/foreigners who need dental work in Taichung. Dr. Hung is skilled and I believe he is a good dentist.

BUT:

Do not let him touch you until you have solidified EVERY SINGLE COST. He sees foreigners as walking money and has no qualms about scamming you out of every cent. As a warning to patients going to NY Dental in Taipei. Dr. Hung mentioned to me before the screaming that they were comparing pricing for foreigners.

Just a little CYA.

I’ve been told my March 26th wisdom tooth extraction (which will be a “surgical” procedure because it’s growing perpendicular to the rest of my teeth) will cost NT$3150, including the visit fee and after NHI.

Does this sound about right?

If that’s at a dentist’s, then it sounds completely crazy! I had an upper horizontal wisdom tooth extracted at NY dentist in Taipei, around NT350 as far as I recall, after NHI and including X-Rays. If it’s in a hospital, then no idea, however I recall a friend having a lower tooth (more difficult) extracted in a hospital here, he didn’t mention the cost, but had it been over 3000, I’m sure he would have. Get a quote somewhere else.

So I called my uncle, who’s a dentist in Kaohsiung, and he said wisdom tooth extractions, even “surgical” ones, should not cost more than the normal visit fee. He referred me to a dentist who went to the same university as him, who now has a clinic in Taipei’s Ta-An district. This dentist, Dr. Zhong, said the extraction will cost me NT$100.

Needless to say, I’m going to cancel my appointment with Dr. Tuan, who wants to charge me NT$3,000.

Also, Dr. Zhong said I had 6 or 7 cavities, and showed me where they were. Two weeks ago, Dr. Tuan said I didn’t have any cavities.

One I go to in Tianmu
02 2838 0201

Dr. Victor Lee and his wife are a team. Victor is super friendly guy, non stop talks to you. His wife is sweet and during her root canals I’ve actually FALLEN ASLEEP. They also have a small pack of female assistants who are usually pretty cute too and can speak English. You’ll have to call for addy until I can update in a month since I left the business card at home. Office is really clean, a flat screen monitor computer w/fast speed internet, for waiting guests, they have a few posters up saying that they had long been taking extra steps for disinfecting and wearing masks, whatever, blah blah, BEFORE SARS.

He does a great job and if you don’t need it, he WON’T do it. He’s had patients who are used to the “if it hurts, rip it out” and request it from him, in which his reply was to refuse pull out teeth, give root canals, and replace it even though he makes bundles–simply because this was not the appropriate procedure for the patient and unnecessar. He advised me against costly procedures although he’d make a bundle. He also knows scores of people to refer you to that can speak English in almost every occupation.

I think he did his work in Seattle and I think it’s his wife’s certificate that comes from Columbia University. A whole bunch of degrees and awards of some sort on a wall in there. Go in for a checkup and x-rays and be sure to get a quote.

Problems: He’s not the cheapest but he’s definitely worth the price, he does a really good job. I don’t think they even take insurance. He’s also really hard to get an appt for because he’s very popular so call ahead of time. But if you’re an emergency case I think they will allot time and go a bit overtime.