Vietnam wants to grow dental tourism, which has Australian dentists worried
Australians now make up the majority of foreign clients at dentists in Vietnam, as increasing numbers of Australians seek cheaper, quicker dental procedures in Asia. But Australian dentists are worried.
Vietnam is seeking to expand its dental tourism industry, attracting more Australian patients who are concerned about the high cost of dental work in their own country. The Vietnamese Health Ministry reports that Australians are among the top nationalities receiving medical treatment in the country. Dental clinics in Vietnam are utilizing social media to target Australian tourists, offering cheaper dental procedures along with accommodations, flights, and other services.
Wendy Middleton, a 67-year-old Australian from Adelaide, is one such patient who sought dental work in Vietnam due to the high cost and lengthy waiting times in her home country. She was initially hesitant but ultimately decided to take the risk after researching the procedure. However, consultant prosthodontist Scott Davis, a spokesperson for the Australian Dental Association, has seen many patients return from overseas with negative outcomes due to complications that cannot be resolved quickly.
He believes that Australia should track adverse outcomes from medical procedures abroad to better understand the scale of the problem. Vietnam aims to double the number of international medical tourists, including dental patients, to around 750,000 by 2030 in partnership with the country's tourism department.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
