Warning for seeking dental care in Manila/Makati

My name is Grace Edwards and expats from New York.  My husband and I have been living in Makati area for 5 years and I am sharing with you, especially the newbies my terrible, frustrating and so time-consuming experience I had with dentists here in Makati area.   These 2 dental group that I will mention are the 2 dental group to avoid by all means.  The first one is the ****   I went to this dentist Dr.***, for crowns, bridge and eventually an implant.  I went to *** and have seen her in a period of a year and a half.  I was never happy with her work because it did not meet the standard I was hoping for from an American owned establishment.  The materials that were used was below standard even do the fee they charged was for a higher quality material.  This is the reason for all the delays in fitting and adjustments and breakage.  I was so frustrated that towards the end of the treatment.  I  just gave up and just make do with what I have even though I am still suffering from the inefficiency of the dentist.  Last month, I decided to go back and see a dentist for my lower tooth that was having a problem since *** said, I can always come back if there is any problem since it is part of the fee I have paid.   **** was no longer working there and they can not give any information about her whereabouts.   They have a dentist named ***  I am a very trusting person, so I gave this ***  a chance.   That same day he had given 11 crowns and one extraction.  I was there for 5 hours.  He drilled and drilled most of my lower teeth.  I was in misery.  He charged me 60.000.00 pesos for the procedure.  I realized then that I have made a mistake.  Again, the job was sloppy and below the standard of what I expect from this establishment.   I am owning my mistake.  I asked for all my records for those 4 years I have been coming here.  I left and vowed never to return to this place ever again.

The second dental group I went to was the ***.  These are a group of dentists located in the lower ground of the building.   The clinic I went to was a very expensive, ultra high tech dental environment and was surrounded by videos of local celebrities touting this establishment.  The dentist I met was a ***, and the first statement he said to me quoting him verbatim  "I am not here for the money, I am very wealthy.  I am here for my passion to fix teeth that others messed up"  That should have been a flag for me, but I like to give people a chance.  I was there for a tooth that has been bothering me, a tooth that is next to an implant.  After an x-ray and an unnecessary cat scan of my mouth(The x-ray was 2000 and the CT Scan was 14,000),  they asked me to come back the next day to study the films.  I came back the next day and spoke to ***, DMD and she explained to me the severity of my case, that I needed more implants, extractions and that I need a new bridge and crown and that I have to wear a denture for 6 months and the procedure will be at least a year and that the lower teeth have to be replaced even though I have explained to them that It was just done last month.  They said because they do the upper that the lower has to be adjusted.  I realized then and then that these people are there to take advantage of me being an expat, and they saw dollars signs all over.  I just took off feeling so angry and frustrated.

I am still looking for a real dentist who can sincerely help me.  Please, expats, avoid these places.  I learned a very hard lesson and very costly experience.   Do not even attempt to give it a try and please share my experience to all expats.

Sincerely,

Grace Edwards