Arabic version: عيادات الأسنان الفيتنامية تستهدف المرضى الأستراليين عبر الإنترنت

According to ABC News, Vietnamese dental clinics are using social media advertisements, influencers and online videos to reach Australians seeking lower-cost treatment. Vietnam’s Health Ministry lists Australians among the leading nationalities receiving medical treatment in the country, while one Hanoi and Da Nang practice, Australian Dental Clinic, said most of its foreign clients were Australian.

Adelaide resident Wendy Middleton said she travelled to Vietnam after a local dentist quoted about $40,000 for work involving multiple crowns and extractions. The 67-year-old said she had stopped seeing a dentist because she could not afford it, before pain made urgent treatment necessary. She booked a package after seeing social-media advertising and conducting her own research, saying it cost about a third of the Australian price and included travel-related arrangements.

Vietnam is preparing a draft plan to expand medical tourism with its Department of Tourism. The Health Ministry says about 300,000 foreign residents and visitors use medical services in Vietnam each year, including dental, fertility and cosmetic procedures. The government aims to attract about 750,000 international medical tourists annually by 2030. Associate professor Giannina Warren said medical tourism was becoming a strategic priority and that trust was central to the sector’s growth.

Australian Dental Association spokesperson Scott Davis said he has seen patients return from overseas with complications. He said treatment that may normally take three to six months can be compressed into two weeks when people travel, and raised concerns about medical-legal protections and access to compensation for foreign patients in Vietnam. He also urged prospective clients to check a practice, assess whether recommended work is necessary, and verify a clinician’s qualifications and training.

Australia’s Department of Health, Disability and Ageing advises people considering overseas dental treatment to understand the risks, seek advice from a registered Australian health practitioner, and check available aftercare, insurance and consumer protections. The department said overseas providers are outside the regulatory responsibilities of the Australian Health Practitioner Agency, while dental services in Australia are also subject to state and territory laws.