Dental care in the Gulf
 

Looks like I'm going to need some orthodontist work done to stop teeth from shifting (which is causing my gums to recede). It's not bad now but if I don't do anything it will only get worse. So says my dentist in the UK, who I trust.

I don't want to wait until I move back permanently for dental treatment so I'm looking at getting it done in Qatar. But so far it's very hard to find decent information on clinics in Doha, and when I contacted two of the better known ones I was quoted between 300-400 QAR for the initial consultancy (fine enough) but also told in that simpering way of health clinic assistants that there would also be a series of x-rays on the teeth, which would allow the dentist to better evaluate my case, and which would cost me around 1200 QAR. And that's even before anything's done!

Note: I do not have dental health insurance worth a damn.

I have a sickening feeling that trying to have dental work done in the GCC is similar to many people's experience with private health clinics, you go in for an initial evaluation and end up being passed around as many consultants as possible and charged multiple hundreds if not thousands per consultant and only to get negligible results at the end, or something that totally contradicts what your home GP tells you, or being told you need to undergo X + Y + Z + a hundred other specialist treatments and when you tell your home GP (in this case, my ma) she goes "whaaaaa?!"

So - has anyone had decent experience with dentists, especially orthodontist work, in the GCC? And how much did it cost you?

Re: Dental care in the Gulf
 

I use these guys - not sure if they have a clinic in Doha
https://www.nicolasandasp.com/

Re: Dental care in the Gulf
 

I had periodontal work due to smoking (allegedly!) with receding gums and needed to have additional bone added (it was a powder/granules). Rather than have 4 sittings (for each quarter of the mouth - I opted for an hours operation under general and got the whole thing done. Meant living on yoghurts and coffee for 3 days. Cost was 1000KWD.

Re: Dental care in the Gulf
 

bl00dy nora that's almost £2.5k :eek::eek:

Re: Dental care in the Gulf
 

Mission darling, I'm facing the prospect of having to spend between 25,000-30,000 QAR just for some plates. He got off lightly.

Re: Dental care in the Gulf
 

**** that. Fly off somewhere and get it done! I had some work done in Brazil a couple of months ago 40% of the price of in the UAE and an awful lot more comfortable.

Re: Dental care in the Gulf
 

Vietnam is a popular destination for reasonable cost and quality dental work. Jordan is another option.

Personally, I wouldn't let anyone in Qatar near my mouth. Cross-infection risk should be the number one consideration, before cost.

Think Dr Nick Riviera v's Dr Hibbard (Simpsons)

Re: Dental care in the Gulf
 

Colleagues in Jeddah used to fly to Bangkok for dental treatment. Admittedly they got free tickets from our employer but even then I considered this another example of American lunacy !

Re: Dental care in the Gulf
 

KL could be another option. Judging by comments (hundreds of them) on Trip Advisor it would seem that most west coast Australians travel there for dental work :-)

Re: Dental care in the Gulf
 

Bangkok smile dental clinic.

Re: Dental care in the Gulf
 

Do it in Dubai? These guys are excellent: Dentist Direct Neil Mitchell was quality when I went.

Re: Dental care in the Gulf
 

Thank you everyone.

The problem with flying abroad for dental work is this isn't a one-off treatment but a treatment that likely requires periodic visits to the orthodontist for adjusting the plates. Didn't any of you have braces?

Flying every six weeks or so to KL or Jordan or Turkey probably effectively kills any potential savings. Dubai could have been an option but with the embargo the flights via Oman are around 2,000 QAR/AED and not feasible in a single day.

Sigh. Let me go in for a consultancy and see what happens.

Re: Dental care in the Gulf
 

holy motha of gawd!!:eek::eek::eek:
is it not possible to have the initial treatment done by someone abroad, and hence before you fly off, find a dentist in Doha who can continue with the adjusting of the braces...or is it not as simple as that:confused:
Fortunately i have never had braces...the most treatment my gob has had are fillings, a root canal and a couple of teeth taken out.

Re: Dental care in the Gulf
 

Sorry, of course, the embargo.

Is there some sort of Doha Mums group or something you can ask? Don't laugh, they're the nastiest critics of all and will know a good dentist surely.

Re: Dental care in the Gulf
 

There is a Facebook group.

The choices are down to:

A) Western run clinic that is so expensive but as good quality as you can get in Doha and comparable to home.

B) Indian run clinic that is half the price but wildly varying quality and potential for ****-ups is pretty high. It's rolling the dice. You could end up with a similar output as clinic A but at half the price, or you end up with a ****ed up mess that has to be fixed at additional cost.

You come across reviews and comments from western expats that say "I was a dental hygienist at home so I can read the dental x-rays and this dentist was telling me I needed to have X+Y+Z work done when I know perfectly well I only need X and of course the only reason he wanted Y+Z was to make more money off me (and fills in the details so you know she's right)" Or even scarier, totally unnecessary treatments. "The dentist (at a reputable clinic) told me I needed to have ten fillings when I knew there was nothing wrong with my teeth and sure enough I said no and when I went home I visited my regular dentist who confirmed I didn't need any fillings."