Guest Posted January 25, 2003 Report Share Posted January 25, 2003 I just had a wonderful experience at the Asavanant Dental Clinic in BKK. My (soon-to-be-fired) New York dentist had convinced me that that I needed two crowns because of cavities underneath some old, large amalgam fillings. I had resisted the idea and asked the dentist why she couldn?t just refill the tooth. ?Cavity is too big,? she said. ?Nothing to hold the tooth together.? Finally thought I would get them done cheaper in BKK. (NY price: USD 1100 each.) So, following a recommendation on this board, I went to the Asavanant clinic without an appointment during my two-week vacation recently. Immediately I have a consultation with Dr. Soontorn Asavanant, the founder of the clinic. Although he speaks excellent English I bring my Thai wife with me just to get her impressions. I explain that I want two crowns done. (Asavanant actually posts a price list! A crown costs 15,000 baht or $357 at the going exchange rate.) Dr. Soontorn says that he would like to make his own examination and then a recommendation. He takes a panoramic x-ray and then two small x-rays of the teeth. Then he says that I can have crowns if I want, but that he would recommend ceramic fillings, which I had never heard of. A ceramic filling is piece of porcelain made to fit the cavity in question, cemented in, and shaped by the dentist for the correct bite. Unlike an amalgam filling, the bonding holds the tooth together. The price is 6-7,000 baht depending on number of surfaces. Takes two visits. The clinics own on-premises lab makes the ceramic piece. (My NY dentist had never informed me of the possibility of a ceramic filling!) I ask my wife what she thinks of him and she thinks he must be honest because he could easily have sold me the higher priced job. By the way, the prices for all services are posted prominently by the receptionist! I really like that! None of this we-doctors-are-too-lofty-to-talk-about-dirty-money. And you know that he isn?t charging farangs more than the locals. So, I agree to do the job. I am referred to a staff dentist, Dr. Busakorn Vongsalai. She is very professional, speaks excellent English (which I test with, ?Does the cement fill voids?? ?Yes, it fills voids.?) and she is also much more considerate than any dentist I have every had before. For example, when the various NY dentists I have experienced go to inject the lidocaine they just swab a kind of Q-tip with a local anaesthetic around a little bit first. But that does nothing and the injection hurts. Dr. Busakorn takes a bunch of cotton pads and loads them around the gum in question, tells me to bite down on them, and waits FIFTEEN minutes for the local to take effect. Then when she injects the lidocaine I can?t even feel the needle. Believe me, I appreciate little touches like this. She excavates both teeth for an hour. Both are large cavities. However, in one the pulp is dead so I have to have a root canal on that one. She fills it with a temporary filling and CHARGES ME NOTHING for that one. On the other one she excavates, makes a cast, and schedules the second visit for a week later at which time the lab will have made the ceramic filling. She has spent one hour up to this point. I arrive for the next appointment. It takes two hours for her to fit the ceramic piece in, dry the cavity thoroughly, put int he cement, let it cure, and then shape the bite. Finished, ready to use. Looks great, like a tooth, not like the ugly amalgam. Total dentist time in two visits: 3 hours plus lab work. Total cost: 6,000 baht or about USD 140, of which my insurance will cover most or all, to be determined. So now I am pissed off at my expensive NY dentist who was pushing the crowns and never informed me of this option. I don?t expect the NY dentist to work for BKK wages, but I do expect her to inform me of all options so that I can choose among them. Instead she steered me toward a profitable solution for herself. So now, since I expect to make annual trips to Thailand to visit my wife?s family, I plan on doing my major dental work there and just the cleanings here in NY. I have three other large cavities that have old amalgam fillings. I will replace these with ceramic because it is easy for them to develop cavities under the filling that can kill the tooth before they show up on an x-ray. I also have several smaller fillings that I will have replaced with resin. I would have done the root canal at Asavanant except that it calls for multiple visits, I didn?t want to devote my whole vacation to dentistry, and I have good Endodontist in NY. I only wish I could have my wife's orthodonture done there, but that requires monthly adjustments. Khun Pad Thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 26, 2003 Report Share Posted January 26, 2003 Thank you for the report. So, now we have many good alternatives in BKK. I made a similar experience in the dental clinic Soi 49, when the doctor suggested a much cheaper alternative than the one I was going to choose. I will definitely have more dental work done in BKK during my next visits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumpy Posted January 28, 2003 Report Share Posted January 28, 2003 Excellent post thanks, I would certianly consider using their services after reading your report. It sounds much better than the more expensive dental care I have recieved in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 I went to Asavanant the other day per this thread's glowing reviews. Firstly, they have an excellent clean facility. The X-ray room was skimping on the air-con but this may be since I was the only one there. From reading their pamphlet, I think that most, if not all of the dentists there are from Chula, if that means anything... The doctor I had was very professional, actually maybe a bit too professional. She was very cut and dry about my options. I'm not keen on dentists and I could've used a bit more coddling. Public health services 20 years ago wasn't so nice... Anyways, her technique was AMAZING. Like KhunPadThai mentioned, her application of the novocaine was almost undetectable, and I HATE farking needles! What I needed to get done was pretty dire, needed to remove a tooth that had root canal done a few years back. It got cracked and finally broke off a couple of days ago. She needed to pull the whole root system and tooth out... Lemme tell ya, I thank the whatever dentist deity up there for not having any nerves in that tooth cuz she really really shoved, pulled and I almost thought she'd put her foot up to my face to help pull that goddamn mofaka out! All the while asking, "does it hurt?" Also, them assuming that I was another "ignorant" farang by yacking about "hiew khao" and what they would like to eat or that the assistant thought I had a narak face but the dentist disagreed, kinda sucked donkey nuts since they were trying to remove a freaking body part at the same time! Problem was; I had a shitload of gadgets in my mouth so I couldn't speak anyways 'cept to grunt "uh". Also, how do I vocalize, "no you're deep core drilling/extraction of my tooth is ok, but your using my fucking FACE as leverage for you METAL rod!!!!". I swear, I thought that she was gonna fracture my other teeth from using them as leverage. The whole process took an hour. In final, Asavanant is a very competent and well educated staffed facility. The bedside manners could be a bit more caring due to the inherent fear of dentists for so many, but all in all, it's the best you can probably get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash999 Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 Anyone ever been to the dentist at Bumrungrad? It's very close to here so I'm considering going but a friend of mine gave it a thumbs-down. Might check out Asavanant but it's a bit far for my lazy ass. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 11, 2003 Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 Might check out Asavanant but it's a bit far for my lazy ass. guy... it's like only a couple of feet from Thonglor BTS stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash999 Posted February 11, 2003 Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 Says Tyler_Durden: Might check out Asavanant but it's a bit far for my lazy ass. guy... it's like only a couple of feet from Thonglor BTS stop. Duly noted. I, however, do not live in the Thonglor BTS stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous_Dog Posted February 14, 2003 Report Share Posted February 14, 2003 Dam this sounds like the place I need - I am so scared of dentists I only go (twice in 15 years) when something bad happens. Can we post the address or phone number? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquidflux Posted February 15, 2003 Report Share Posted February 15, 2003 I can recommend Promjai Dental Clinic in Soi 39. I found this place thru a friend of mine who is studying dentistry at Chula. The place is very modern, great english speaking staff, with many of the specialists being trained in the USA. Had a total of 3 visits. First consisited of a general consult and getting impressions of my teeth made. Second visit was laser whitening of the upper and lower teeth along with a take home whitening kit that I used for one week. Final visit was having my 6 upper front teeth bonded and reshaped. The results are excellent and I've been complimented by many on the work, including my own dentist. Total price for everything was 20000 baht. The address is: 18/2-3 Sukhumvit 39 Wattana Bangkok 10110 Tel. 02 2616232 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 16, 2003 Report Share Posted February 16, 2003 When I got back to New York I had a root canal done. I wasn't willing to try this at Asavanant because root canals are very difficult and I have an endodontist here in whom I have great confidence. However, I did have an interesting discussion with the endodontist on the topical anesthetic. He used the little Q-tip with something on it that doesn't do very much. When I complained that it was so much better in Bangkok, he suggested that maybe they used cocaine as a topical. Evidently, coke is the best topical anesthetic, but not legal for this use in the US. When I go back to Asavanant next year I will ask them what they use. Khun Pad Thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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