How to check a dental clinic in Vietnam yourself.
Check a dental clinic in Vietnam by sending it eight questions, before you send anything else. A clinic that answers all eight in writing, with documents, is worth a conversation. A clinic that answers only three and changes the subject is a warning sign. Either way, you find out for free.
The checklist in this guide is the same one Dental Link uses. Take it even if you never call us.
The eight questions to email a clinic first
When you first email a clinic, do not lead with your X-rays and your budget. Lead with the paperwork, using the eight questions below. How a clinic handles this email tells you a lot.
- Can you send your operating licence from the Ministry of Health, and confirm the trading name and address it covers?
- Which dentist would treat me? Please send their practising registration. If a second dentist would put in the implants, please send theirs too.
- How many cases like mine has that dentist done, and can you show examples of that specific procedure?
- Which lab makes the crowns, bridges or arches (full rows of teeth), and can you send its name and certification?
- Which implant system or material brand would you use? Can you show proof of supply (proof you really buy that brand), not just the logo?
- Can you send your written price list, and an itemised written plan before anything starts?
- What is the warranty: how many years, what is covered, what is excluded, and how is a claim made?
- What are your sterilisation and instrument tracking procedures, and can I see the autoclave (steriliser) records?
These eight questions are the checks you can run from home. Dental Link's other ten checks need someone inside the clinic. We do those checks ourselves.
Good and bad answers from a dental clinic when you ask for its documents
| What you ask about | A good answer | A bad answer |
|---|---|---|
| The licence | A scanned document, with the name and address matching what you were told. | "We are fully licensed and internationally certified." No document. |
| The dentist | A named person, their registration, and cases for your procedure. | "All our doctors are highly experienced." No name. |
| The lab | A lab name you can search, and its certification. | "We use a high quality German lab." No name. |
| The brand | The brand or implant system named in writing, with proof of supply (proof the clinic really buys that brand). | A brand named verbally, then a cheaper one in the plan. |
| The warranty | Years, coverage, exclusions and the claim process, in a document. | "Lifetime warranty." No terms, no exclusions, no process. |
| Sterilisation | A described sterilisation process, and records they are willing to show. | The clinic takes offence at the question. |
Dental Link drops any clinic that will not show a licence, the lab it uses, or an autoclave (steriliser) log.
How to read a dental quote, not just the total price
The total is the least useful line on a dental quote. Look for the things below instead. Compare two quotes side by side, not one quote against what you hope to pay.
- The brand of every implant, crown or veneer material, named
- The name of the laboratory
- Every appointment, across both trips if your treatment needs two, and the gap between the trips
- The warranty terms, in the quote itself, not on a separate marketing page
- What is excluded. Look for extractions (taking teeth out) and bone grafting (adding bone to the jaw). Look for a sinus lift (adding bone below the sinus in the upper jaw). Also look for temporary teeth and imaging on arrival.
Exclusions are things the price does not cover. A low total with a long list of exclusions is not a low price. It is the most common way an overseas dental quote goes wrong. You can spot it before you fly.
Three things to ask a clinic to show you on a video call
Most clinics that treat international patients will do a video call. Ask them to walk you through the building, not sit at a desk.
- The sterilisation room. You are not inspecting it. You are watching whether the clinic treats your request as normal or awkward.
- The imaging equipment. On site 3D imaging and digital scanning, in use, not in a brochure.
- The treating dentist. Ask them to explain your plan, the material and the aftercare in plain English. If it takes three people to explain, that tells you what treatment day will be like.
Signs you should walk away from a dental clinic
- A deposit of 20 to 50 percent demanded before you have met anyone
- A price agreed in the chair, not in writing beforehand
- Any suggestion of a special price for you, or a discount that expires
- A brand or material that changes between the conversation and the plan
- A warranty you cannot read, or one with no exclusions listed at all
- Aftercare that has no named person attached to it
Rather not check a clinic yourself? That is why Dental Link exists, and it costs you nothing.
Questions about checking a dental clinic in Vietnam.
Will a clinic be offended if I ask for its licence, sterilisation records and other documents?
A clinic that often treats international patients will not be offended, because it is asked all the time. How the clinic reacts is the test. Dental Link asks every clinic for all these documents, in writing, before it sends that clinic a patient. The clinics worth using send them back without drama.
Can I check a Vietnamese clinic's licence from home?
You can ask the clinic for its licence. Then check that its trading name and address match what you were told. That catches most of what matters. Checking the licence against the licence register itself is easier from inside Vietnam. Dental Link does that in person, and re-checks it every year.
Are lots of good reviews enough to trust a clinic?
Reviews tell you about the patient experience, which is worth knowing. They do not show sterilisation records, instrument tracking or the supply chain behind a brand name. They also do not show how often work has complications or has to be remade. Documents and records of how treatments turned out show these things. So Dental Link's clinic vetting asks for the documents and the records.
What if I have already paid a deposit to a clinic I found myself?
A deposit you paid to a clinic you found yourself is between you and that clinic. Dental Link will not advise on it. With Dental Link, there are no deposits, ever. Your dates are held with the clinic without one. You pay the clinic in person for work you have agreed to.
Let the Dental Link team in Vietnam run every clinic check for you.
We run all 18 checks before a clinic is ever sent a patient, and re-run them every year. Ten minutes on the phone gets you two clinics that passed, each with a written quote and walk through video.
You book a call. You book a flight. We do everything else, and we are beside you from the moment you land.
