David's Story

Hi, I'm David Stuart and this is my dental story. 

I never wanted to go overseas for my dental work. Believe me, I would have been quite happy to have my teeth restored at home but the years were flying by and not only were my teeth deteriorating rapidly, the pain was becoming a constant infringement on the quality of life. I suppose I could put up with the physical pain to a certain extent but the one pain I found difficult to deal with was the psychological kind.

it's funny looking back on the strange little habits I picked up once deciding my teeth should never again see the light of day. Open laughing was to be avoided at all costs so I developed the closed smiling mouth/smiling eyes technique This works quite well until you meet someone really funny and you burst out laughing while silently cursing/liking them. Unfortunately this method also accelerates the crows feet around the eyes.


Around 2000 I developed severe gum disease although I add, not for the first time. So it was back to my dentist
for another round of high priced treatment that neither he or I were very enthusiastic about. My teeth were crowded, painfully sensitive,
worn down, decayed and cracking. The only thing that would save them was an extensive restoration that I knew and my dentist knew,
I just couldn't afford. So it was just more patch up dentistry until my magic money tree coughed up $45,000

Two years further on and I'd had enough. I was just plain tired of it all. I used to be a happy person who laughed and smiled often, but I just didn't feel like me anymore. In short, I was depressed and my self-esteem had taken a battering. My breath became so bad I started avoiding crowds or anywhere I'd have to stand close to people. I had a constant taste of blood and decay in my mouth and pain and bloating in the stomach from not being able to chew my food properly. I could also no longer drink or eat anything that wasn't room temperature as my teeth were so worn down that the roots were reacting to even the slightest temperature variation. I'm sure some reading this will relate to the fun of it all.

Desperation was setting in and I came within an inch of having all of my teeth extracted and replaced with dentures.. That, I could just about afford !

I don't exactly know where the idea came from to go overseas for treatment. I'd just heard somewhere that it was cheaper. When I first seriously looked at the idea there wasn't much information around. It was a matter of working from the ground up and gathering as many facts as possible regarding SE Asian dentistry.

My mission was to find a good reputable dentist who could restore my teeth and give me back my smile, confidence and self esteem.

I researched dental clinics for over twelve months with dozens of X-rays and dental plans going back and forth from the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and India. I was looking for ease of communication, exceptional skills and high qualifications in all aspects of dentistry.The only way to do this was to ask a lot of questions and examine the results.

After an exhausting and at times frustrating search, I found the the clinic I'd been searching for. The communication was sharp and the staff spoke excellent English (as do most of the population in Manila). They were quick to forward details of qualifications, experience, sterilisation methods and importantly, a treatment and expense outline for my restoration. While excited with having reached this decision I was still apprehensive about taking the trip. In fact I procrastinated for another three months until finally deciding to just go for it!

I arrived in Manila with the mind set that if the clinic looked dirty or if things were not as they seemed I would walk away. As hard as that would have been to do, my health was the most important thing. To be honest my first impressions of Manila weren't that good. Hot, sticky, crowded, and choking with traffic. I was definitely culture shocked. But after a few days I settled in and moved with the flow of what is a big, vibrant, and amazingly friendly city. Australians are popular in the Philippines and have a reputation for being friendly and fun but lousy tippers.

While it was nice to get to know the city a little bit I was here for the dental work and so the morning of the first appointment found me in a worse than usual ball of anxiety. I fixed my focus on the end result and marched on with mustered bravado I didn't really feel.

My initial fears regarding the cleanliness of the clinic were groundless. The clinic itself sparkled and everything appeared modern and state of the art. Every step of the procedure was explained to me on request. After the first appointment I can honestly say I felt in pretty good hands and after traveling so far and researching so long I was quite relieved. The dentist really listened to my concerns regarding my treatment and pathetically low pain threshold. She presented some further treatment options and advice where applicable. At no stage did I ever feel rushed or harassed - everything was done at my pace.

The dental team created a full smile restoration consisting of decay treatment, root canals to help align the front teeth, porcelain crowns (all porcelain on the fronts and porcelain fused to metal on the backs), fixed Porcelain bridges to replace missing back teeth, and a gum lift. The cost? Under $12,000 including airfare and accommodation.

Now I'm not going to suggest to the reader that it was all easy and plain sailing because at times it wasn't. Three weeks worth of dentistry (In my case) requires some commitment and a will to see it through to it's rewarding end

Did I mention loving the result? My smile was now aesthetically pleasing and I was pain free for the first time in years. Absolute bliss. My digestive system also powered along since I'd stopped sending it poorly chewed lumps of food. Gone were the nightly digestive cramps and bloating as well as the excess gas (sorry if that's too much information!). With the decay and gum disease vanquished my mouth tasted really fresh and healthy.

So much has changed since my dental tourism adventure. The obvious being I smile and laugh a lot more frequently and of coarse my confidence and self-esteem have also improved. That in itself wasn't a sudden or dramatic change but rather a gradual improvement which I could only really explain by saying I felt more comfortable in my own skin.

My broadest smiles were saved for those who were quite skeptical and dubious of my decision to go. Some of my friends tried to talk me out of taking the step into the great unknown either convinced the work would be shoddy or I'd end up a victim of crime. Neither could have been further from the truth.

Two years later and after organising numerous trips for others I joined the clinic in a unique partnership and now take care of international marketing and patient liaison. You may have seen us recently on the 'Today Show' along with numerous magazine and newspaper articles. I'm trying to spread the word that there is a real alternative. A first class dental clinic available in the Philippines that can give you back your quality of life without breaking the bank. A clinic who's team are dedicated to their craft and patient care and who along the way have won numerous awards and recognition from their peers.

The testimonies and before and after photographs found on this website and dental forum are not fictional but come unsolicited from genuine patients who have experienced our clinic and were so delighted with the result they felt compelled to write. Chances are that if you're reading this then you're looking for some real and cost effective solutions to your dental problems. I wish you all the very best with your research and sincerely hope you find a clinic that you're comfortable with. And more importantly, that you have the courage and motivation to follow it through for a successful and life changing result.