Dental Crowns in Thailand: What to Check First
The short answer.
A crown usually takes more than one appointment, so plan your stay around it. Check the dentist's registration and what the quote covers. In Australia, CHOICE's 2023 fee guide puts a veneered crown mostly at $1,250 to $2,100 (not our fees).
Many Australians look overseas, particularly to Thailand, for dental crowns and other dental work, mainly because of the price. Before you book, it helps to know how crowns are made and fitted, what a quote should cover, and what to check about the dentist. If you’d rather explore treatment closer to home, read about crowns and bridges at Dental Spot in Croydon.
What are Dental Crowns?
Dental crowns are tooth-shaped caps that cover a weak, damaged or discoloured tooth to strengthen it and improve how it looks. They’re also used to restore a tooth after root canal treatment and to finish a dental implant. You can read more in our guide to crowns before and after.
How are Dental Crowns Placed?
Your dentist first prepares the natural tooth for the crown. Depending on the reason for your crown, this might include shaping the tooth or repairing a crack or cavity to prevent further decay beneath the crown.
Next, your dentist takes an impression of the prepared tooth, either a physical impression or a digital scan, and the crown is made from it. At Dental Spot in Croydon, we make our crowns in our on-site laboratory, so we don’t wait for delivery from an outside lab.
Once the crown is ready, your dentist places it over the tooth to check the fit. If it’s comfortable and you can bite down normally, your dentist cements the crown in place.
If your crown is part of a dental implant, the implant is placed first, and the site needs several months to heal before the crown is fitted.
What to Consider About Crowns in Thailand
Checking the dentist and clinic
In Australia, dentists must be registered with the Dental Board of Australia and follow its codes and guidelines (another site), including on infection control. In Thailand, the Thai Dental Council (another site) oversees dentists (its website is in Thai). Wherever you go, ask about the dentist’s registration and experience, which crown materials they use, and how the clinic sterilises instruments.
More than one appointment
Crowns take time to make and fit. You’ll usually need a consultation, an appointment to prepare the tooth and take an impression, and another to fit the crown. Plan your stay around those appointments; fitting everything into a short holiday can mean a longer stay or more time off work.
Clear communication
Make sure you understand what will be done to your teeth and what it will cost. Ask for the treatment plan and an itemised quote in writing, so there are no surprises on your bill.
Costs and recourse
A quote for crowns in Thailand usually covers the treatment only. Add flights, accommodation and time off work. Australian private health insurance generally doesn’t cover treatment overseas, so if a crown chips or comes loose after you’re home, the repair is likely to be at your own cost.
In Australia, CHOICE’s guide to dental fees (updated 9 March 2023, using the Australian Dental Association’s 2022 fee survey) puts the average fee for a veneered crown at $1,678, with most fees between $1,250 and $2,100. These are published Australian figures, not our fees. Some extras policies pay a benefit towards crowns. Your quote depends on your teeth, so ask us for a written one.
If something goes wrong with treatment in Australia, health services follow the Australian Open Disclosure Framework (another site), and you can raise a concern with the practice or Ahpra. Pursuing a complaint with a clinic overseas can be harder.
Before You Book
Smartraveller, the Australian Government’s travel advice service, notes that elective procedures can cost much less in some countries, and that while many hospitals overseas are of a similar standard to Australia’s, quality and standards in some countries can be poor. Its advice before you book treatment overseas includes:
- check that the dentist is registered with the local authority and has indemnity insurance;
- check whether your travel insurance covers complications from the treatment;
- get copies of your records to bring home.
For implants and other treatment, see our guide to dental treatment overseas.
Talk to Us
If you’re weighing up crowns in Thailand, we’re happy to explain what treatment here would involve and cost.
Sources
- How much does the dentist cost? (another site), CHOICE, updated 9 March 2023
- Medical tourism (another site), Smartraveller
- The Open Disclosure Framework (another site), Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
- Thai Dental Council (another site) (in Thai)
This guide is general information, not advice about your own teeth. Your dentist can tell you what applies to you, including the risks of any treatment.
Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
