The Aussie Retiree Who Got His Smile Back

Graham had been quoted A$48,000 for a full-mouth restoration in Brisbane.

He sat with the quote for the better part of a year. Two of his back teeth were broken. The front ones were stained and crowded. A few were genuinely starting to ache. His Brisbane dentist had been straight with him: at his age, it was either keep nursing what was left until the next one fell out, or fix the lot properly. The 'fix the lot' option was A$48,000.

'I'm comfortable in retirement, not rich,' Graham says. 'Forty-eight grand on teeth was a hard ask.'

The mate who'd already done it

A friend from his bowls club came back from Hanoi the year before with a brand new set of teeth. Graham had noticed but hadn't said anything. When he finally asked, the mate showed him a photo of the invoice. Flights, hotel, full job, about a third of the Brisbane number.

That was enough to start looking.

The plan

He uploaded his X-rays and a recent panoramic scan to SmileJet. Within 48 hours he had a written treatment plan back from a Hanoi clinic. Extract everything that was failing. Four implants in the upper jaw and six in the lower. Twenty zirconia crowns once the implants had healed in. Two trips, six months apart.

The Vietnam clinic also flagged one issue the Brisbane consultation had not mentioned: a small bone deficit at the upper left lateral site. That would need socket management before the implant could go in. Cost: included.

Trip one

Graham flew into Hanoi at the end of the dry season. Ten days. Surgery on day two, fixed temporary bridges on both jaws by day eight, and out the door for the long flight home with a soft-food list and a phone number for the surgeon's WhatsApp.

'They wrote it all down in English. The pharmacist at the hotel even spoke better English than my pharmacist at home, frankly.'

The first three days he stayed close to the hotel. After that he was eating pho twice a day and walking around the Old Quarter like a tourist.

Trip two

Six months later he flew back. Seven days. Final impressions, twenty zirconia crowns made in the clinic's on-site lab, fitted, adjusted, polished. Bite check on the last morning before the flight home.

Total spend across both trips, in Australian dollars: about A$33,000 once flights and the hotel were added in. Against the Brisbane quote of A$48,000, Graham is roughly A$15,000 better off.

'I should have stopped putting it off five years ago. It is not as scary as it looks from the outside.'

He sees his Brisbane dentist for cleanings every six months. He goes back to Hanoi once a year for a full check-up and a chance to eat decent banh mi. His wife, who originally thought the whole thing was a terrible idea, is now booking her own consult.