Does Vietnam Have Good Dentists?
An Honest Answer

The short answer is yes, with an asterisk

Vietnam produces a large number of dental graduates every year from strong universities: Hanoi Medical University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Can Tho Medical University, and others. The curriculum covers the fundamentals well. The foundation is there.

Where it gets complicated is what happens after graduation. In countries like Australia, the UK, or the US, there are structured pathways for continuing professional development, mandatory education hours, peer review, and specialisation programs with clear oversight. In Vietnam, those systems exist but are not enforced as consistently as in Western markets. So the gap between the best and worst Vietnamese dentists is wider than you might expect in a country with tighter regulatory oversight.

The top tier is genuinely world-class

This is the part that surprises most people. The best dentists in Vietnam are not just "good for a developing country." They are good, full stop. Many have trained overseas or completed fellowships in Australia, France, South Korea, Japan, or the US. They work with the exact same implant systems found in high-end Sydney or London practices: Straumann, Nobel Biocare, Neodent. They use CBCT scanners, digital impression systems, CAD/CAM milling, and guided implant surgery.

These dentists tend to be concentrated in international-facing clinics in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang. At Picasso, our implantologists have placed thousands of fixtures. That kind of case volume builds a level of clinical confidence and pattern recognition that you do not get from doing four implants a month in a suburban practice somewhere.

"Making the decision to go to Hanoi and have the dental treatment done by Picasso was one of the best decisions I have taken for a long time. I not only received top class dental care, it was so cost effective in comparison to having all this work undertaken at an Australian dental practice."

Gerald Mair, Hanoi Old Quarter

The middle and lower tiers are where it gets risky

I have to be honest about this part too, because pretending every clinic in Vietnam delivers great care would be irresponsible. Walk down certain streets in Hanoi's Old Quarter or District 1 in Saigon and you will see dental clinics stacked next to each other, some of them barely bigger than a living room. Not all of them are bad. But some cut corners in ways that matter: sterilisation protocols not followed consistently, cheaper materials substituted without telling the patient, dentists performing procedures they were not properly trained for.

There is no robust peer review system in Vietnam. No equivalent of AHPRA in Australia or the GDC in the UK that actively monitors practitioner competence after graduation. In practice, quality control falls heavily on the individual clinic. And that is exactly the point: the clinic matters more than the country.

Environment matters more than talent alone

Here is something learned the hard way over 13 years of running clinics. A talented dentist in a bad environment will produce mediocre results. An average dentist in a great environment will surprise you. The environment does the heavy lifting.

What makes a good environment? Equipment that works and gets maintained. Lab partnerships that deliver consistent quality. Sterilisation protocols followed every single time, not just when someone is watching. A culture of case review where dentists discuss complex treatments with colleagues. Continuing education that is not optional. At Picasso, we have built all of that deliberately. Not because we are special, but because treating patients from 65 countries leaves no margin for inconsistency.

How to tell if a Vietnamese dentist is actually good

• Treatment planning transparency. A good dentist takes X-rays, possibly a CBCT scan, and walks you through a treatment plan with options and pricing before anything starts. If someone wants to start drilling five minutes after you sit down, leave.
• Material specificity. Ask what implant brand, what crown material, what bonding agent. A clinic that cannot or will not tell you exactly what goes in your mouth is a red flag. At Picasso we are open about using Straumann, Neodent, Ivoclar, and Invisalign because we have nothing to hide.
• Real before-and-after cases. Not stock photos. Real patient cases, ideally with complexity. Any clinic can show you a whitening before-and-after. A full-arch implant case with bone grafting tells you something about actual capability.
• Post-treatment follow-up. What happens after you leave Vietnam? A reputable clinic has a clear protocol for post-op communication, warranty terms, and handling complications remotely. If they go quiet the moment you board your flight, that tells you everything.