Illustrative image (Source: VNA)A full range of dental services is available,including cleaning, teeth whitening, dental implants, bone reconstructionorthodontics, ceramic veneers, crowns and bridges.
Duong Quoc Chi, 58, an overseas Vietnamese fromItaly, combines a quick vacation in HCM City with a visit to a dentist.
“Dental care in Vietnam costs about a third ofthe price compared to Italy,” he said.
He and his wife come to HCM City on vacation tovisit family for three weeks.
“I plan to get some dentistry work done here inHCM City. Besides low cost, dental clinics in the city offer good services andhighly qualified doctors.”
A check-up and cleaning will cost around 50euros (56 USD) in Italy compared to around 200,000-300,000 VND (9-13 USD) atlocal clinics in HCM City and 500,000-800,000 VND at international clinics.
Dentistry costs in Vietnam are only around 75percent of the rates in other Asian countries, according to Nguyen Duc Minh,deputy chairman of the HCM City Odonto-Stomatology Association.
Due to skyrocketing costs of dental care inwestern countries, more and more overseas Vietnamese and foreigntravellers get work on their teeth done while visiting Vietnam.
The city has a large number of international andprivate dental clinics with high quality services meeting internationalstandards.
"Local dentists are highly qualified andare involved with ongoing training and education to keep up with the latesttechniques in dentistry," Minh, who is also director of HCM City’sHospital of Odonto-Stomatology, said.
Despite high-quality cosmetic and dental careand affordable costs, local dentistry has not yet fully explored its hugepotential.
Nearly 100,000 foreign tourists travel to Vietnameach year as dental tourists, providing revenues of nearly 150 million USD,according to figures from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.
The administration forecasts the number ofdental tourists to soar to 250,000 a year in the next five years.
The hospital treats nearly 500 overseasVietnamese and foreigners every year.
This month the hospital will set up fourstate-of-the-art surgery rooms that meet international standards of hygiene andinfection control
Dental tourism club
Vietnam is a favourite destination forinternational tourists due to its culture, breathtaking natural landscapes,world heritage sites, pristine white-sand beaches, exquisite food and friendlyand hospitable people.
Tourism experts said dental holiday packagesinclude accommodation, airport transfers, dental consultation and appointmentsand sightseeing tours.
A foreign tourist can easily combine a quickvacation with work on their teeth with the whole thing costing lower than justdental costs in their country, Nguyen Minh Thang, a dentist at Cam Tu DentalClinic in District 1, said.
Dental clinics should have highly-skilled practitionerswith proficiency in English, good quality and risk management practices andclose co-operation with travel firms, he said.
Dentistry, tourism sector co-operation
La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of the cityDepartment of Tourism, said dental tourism is part of medical tourism, a keysegment the city has identified for priority.
The dentistry industry should come up with alist of accredited clinics to introduce to tourists through tour operators andtravel agents, he said.
Tourism experts said the health department,dental hospitals and clinics, the tourism department and travel firms shouldwork closely to promote dental tourism in promising markets like the US andAustralia.
The association plans to establish a dentaltourism club with qualified Vietnamese dentists and professional consultancyfrom leading experts in the neighbourhood.
The association will promote dental tourism inthe city and improve the capacity of local dentistry to a level comparable withplaces like Singapore, the Republic of Korea and Thailand.-VNA
VNA
