In Thailand, U.S.-style care without the expense - By Karen Garloch
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - When Paul Reeve needed major dental work, he shopped around.

The best deal came from a University of North Carolina Chapel Hill-trained dentist who would do the work for $10,000, instead of $37,000 quoted by others he questioned in the Charlotte, N.C., area. The hitch? The dentist works in Bangkok, Thailand.

Reeve, 59, a retired entrepreneur who lives on North Carolina's Lake Norman, had visited Bangkok before and likes to travel. But he liked the savings even better.
Calling around, he learned that U.S. prosthodontists - who specialize in restoring natural teeth - charge about $1,700 each for crowns. Thai prosthodontists charge about $375 each.

Reeve needed 22 crowns, and it wasn't covered by insurance. In Thailand, he could get the whole package - including airfare, hotel and meals - for one-third the cost of the dental work alone in this country. "I didn't have to be a math genius to figure out that a dental makeover was going to cost me about as much as buying a small German sports car," Reeve wrote on a Weblog about his trip.

But cost alone wouldn't have convinced him to make the trip if he hadn't had confidence in the Thai dentist. Reeve's sister, a dental hygienist in Atlanta, helped narrow his search to three prosthodontists, including Dr. Chatchai Kunavisarut. The 2000 graduate of UNC dental school got raves from former professors, and that sealed the deal. On Aug. 14, Reeve left Charlotte for Bangkok. It took 22 hours, including a four-hour layover in New York. It took two more hours in heavy traffic to get from Bangkok airport to the four-star Emerald Hotel.

The next day, Reeve met Kunavisarut at the seven-story Bangkok International Dental Clinic, a three-minute walk from his hotel. The operating room was clean and white, and the dentist "spoke perfect English and was professionally friendly and prepared," Reeve wrote. Reeve spent about three hours in the dentist's chair that day as Kunavisarut removed old crowns and prepared his teeth for new ones. Reeve made the first payment - 100,000 baht or $3,775 - and returned to the hotel with pain pills.

Over the next 16 days, Reeve spent about 50 hours in the chair as the dentist prepared his teeth, tried out temporary crowns, installed permanent crowns temporarily, and then installed them permanently. Kunavisarut also filled, evened off and whitened six of Reeve's lower teeth, which didn't get crowns. Dentists and other clinic employees worked full days, even on weekends. "The Thai people are like Energizer bunnies," Reeve wrote.

Between dentist appointments, Reeve found time for cooking school and exploring. He saw Buddhist temples, rice fields and water buffalo and ate fried grasshoppers.

On Aug, 19, when he got his temps, Reeve thought the worst was over. Then came Aug. 20. "I knew something was up when Kunavisarut injected me several times deep into my jaw and my whole head went numb. Off came the temps and Kunavisarut started drilling away."

On Aug. 29, Dr. Kunavisarut installed crowns with a temporary bond so Reeve could wear them for a while and make sure they fit. Back at the hotel, Reeve looked at his new teeth and didn't like the color. He called Kunavisarut and returned to the clinic that night. The dentist removed the crowns and returned them to the lab, in the same building. Two days later, he reinstalled the 22 crowns permanently. "My jaws felt like they had been put in a vise, and my gums hurt like hell," Reeve wrote. "But the results were worth it."

Back in Mooresville, his jaw muscles got worse. Reeve couldn't get his mouth open wide enough to eat a sandwich. A doctor friend injected a muscle relaxer that resolved the problem. But it raised the question of what to do about post-procedure complications. "Dr. Chatchai said, `I stand by my work,' but the problem is, I can't just go to Thailand and have him take care of me," Reeve said.

In retrospect, Reeve said he should have stayed longer than 16 days - the Thai dentist suggested a month - to reduce the strain on his jaw. Despite that, Reeve liked the experience so much he's looking into starting or investing in a medical tourism company.
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PAUL REEVE'S COSTS IN THAILAND

Air travel: $1,650.
Lodging: $986.
Food: $850.
Dental work (including 22 crowns, root canal, teeth whitening, mouth guards, six fillings and pain medicines): $10,034.
Grand total: $13,520.

U.S. COMPARISON

Estimate for 22 crowns (not including other dental work, exams or medicine): $37,400.

http://www.belleville.com/mld/bellevill ... 446380.htm via Google News

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