The Tooth Hurts: Beijing's Best Dental Clinics

Few excuses for avoiding a trip to the dentist sound more convincing than “I’m living abroad; I’ll do it when I go home for Christmas.” Fast forward a few years down the line, and you never quite managed to squeeze that check-up in between catching up with family and friends. Sound familiar? Make up for lost time by making an appointment at one of these dental clinics.

Arrail Dental Clinic
The full spectrum of non-surgical dentistry. All of Arrail’s dentists speak good English and some have overseas training. First-time registration, including a check-up and consultation, costs RMB 100. For returning customers, basic consultation costs RMB 100. The CITIC branch specializes in cosmetic dentistry and the Exchange branch specializes in implants. Mon-Thu 9am-5pm, Fri-Sun 9am-5pm. Rm 208, CITIC Bldg, 19 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District. (6500 6472/3) www.arrail-dental.com 瑞尔齿科, 1)朝阳区建国门外大街19号国际大厦208

Beijing International SOS Dental, Orthodontics Clinic International
SOS’ dental branch offers all you’d expect from this global healthcare provider. Routine check-ups and cleaning, X-rays, fillings, whitening, crowns, bridges and cosmetic makeovers are all available. Mon-Sat 9am-5pm. Suite 105, Wing 1, Kunsha Building, 16 Xinyuanli, Chaoyang District. (6462 0333) 北京国际SOS齿科,畸齿矫正诊所, 朝阳区新源里16号琨莎中心一座105室

Beijing United Family Dental Clinic
The Beijing United Family Dental Clinic in Shunyi is a satellite of the main hospital in Lido (which has its own dental clinic onsite). A comprehensive range of services are at hand, including restorative dentistry and cosmetic dentistry. Call for appointments. Mon-Thu 9am-7.20pm, Fri-Sat 9am-5.30pm. 818 Pinnacle Plaza, Tianzhu Real Estate Development Zone, Shunyi District. (8046 1102) 北京和睦家医院牙科诊所, 顺义区天竺开发区荣祥广场818

IDC Dental
Lido-area dental clinic is praised by patients for its professionalism, efficiency, competency and hygiene. English speaking service available. Mon-Fri 9.30am-6.30pm, Sat-Sun 9am-6pm. 2/F Richmond Park Clubhouse, Fangyuan Nanli, Chaoyang District. (6538 8111) www.idcdentalbj.com 朝阳区芳园南里丽都水岸会所2层

IMC Dental Clinic
IMC dental clinic has been around for longer than any other expatriate dental service in Beijing. Provides general, cosmetic and restorative treatments. English, Chinese and Russian are all spoken. Mon-Sat 9am-5pm. S111, Lufthansa Center, 50 Liangmahe Lu, Chaoyang District. (6465 1384, 6465 1328, marketing@imcclinics.com) 北京国际医疗中心牙科诊所, 朝阳区朝阳区亮马桥路50 号燕莎中心写字楼1层S111

King’s Dental 京典口腔
Offers general, laser, cosmetic and pediatric dentistry, including crowns for baby teeth. Also has orthodontics and full mouth rehabilitation. Well-trained, experienced international medical team works with German equipment. First-time registration fee RMB 200. Daily 9am-9pm. Shop 118, 1/F, Beijing Towercrest Plaza, 3 Maizidian Xilu, Chaoyang District. (8458 0388) www.kingsdental.com 朝阳区麦子店西路3号新恒基大厦1层118室

SDM Dental
Services include teeth cleaning, root canal treatment, porcelain crowns, dental implants, orthodontics, cosmetic dentistry, fillings, pediatric dentistry, extraction, teeth whitening and veneers. A basic consultation costs RMB 50, with a first-time registration fee of RMB 50. Credit cards accepted. Daily 9am-8pm. 1) LB107, Euro Plaza, 99 Yuxiang Lu, Tianzhu Town, Shunyi District. (8046 6084); 2) NB 210, B1/F, China World Shopping Mall, 1 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District. (6505 9439); 3) Rm 106, Bldg 11, 22 Yuanda Lu (near Golden Resources Department Store), Haidian District. (8859 6912/13); 4) FC222, 21st Century Hotel, 40 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District. (6466 4814, 6461 2745); 5) F-D186B, Sunshine Plaza, 68 Anli Lu, Chaoyang District. (6497 2173, 6498 2173) www.sdmdental.com 固瑞齿科, 1) 顺义区天竺镇裕祥路99号欧陆广场LB107; 2) 朝阳区建国门外大街1号国贸商场地下1层NB210; 3) 海淀区远大路22号11号楼106室(金源时代购物中心斜对面); 4) 朝阳区亮马桥路40号二十一世纪饭店FC222; 5) 朝阳区安立路68号阳光大厦F-D186B

Smart Health Medical & Dental
Center Offering medical services such as general consultations, family medicine, cardiology, pediatrics and more. Dental services available include: family dentistry, orthodontics, implant dentistry and teeth whitening. Also provides in-patient referral, mobile medical services and overseas consultations. Mon-Fri 9am-8pm, Sat-Sun 9am-6pm. Rm 102/215, Lido Place, 6 Jiangtai Lu, Chaoyang District. (6437 6898, 136 9921 5851) www.hmmp.com.hk, www.smarthealth.cn 北京维健医疗中心, 朝阳区将台路6号丽都广场102/215室

Comments

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What's their consultation fee?

~~“Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” ~~.

toby-BJ wrote:

I needed adult orthodontic treatment back in 2010. I did my fair bit of shopping - BJU, King's Dental, Arrail.. but it was in IDC Dental that I ended up doing it. The doctors were very friendly and explained to me the procedure. They also gave me a good payment plan so I was able to afford it without breaking my bank. They gave me two options on how to proceed with treatment which was nice as I felt like I had the power to decide on things. They were very honest and transparent with charges. And best of all, they have a tiered-pricing for the services. I get my regular cleanings done with a junior doctor and specialized treatments with a more senior one.

I strongly recommend them to anyone. Check them out first and see for yourself as I can go on blabbering but best to go see for yourself.

They must be expensive because they are providing exceptional serice, no?

~~“Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” ~~.

I needed adult orthodontic treatment back in 2010. I did my fair bit of shopping - BJU, King's Dental, Arrail.. but it was in IDC Dental that I ended up doing it. The doctors were very friendly and explained to me the procedure. They also gave me a good payment plan so I was able to afford it without breaking my bank. They gave me two options on how to proceed with treatment which was nice as I felt like I had the power to decide on things. They were very honest and transparent with charges. And best of all, they have a tiered-pricing for the services. I get my regular cleanings done with a junior doctor and specialized treatments with a more senior one.

I strongly recommend them to anyone. Check them out first and see for yourself as I can go on blabbering but best to go see for yourself.

I have a positive experience with Ruitai Kouqiang at Beiyuan Lu.

A few days ago, I somehow managed to loose a tiny bit of one of my teeth when eating lunch. As per advice of my dentist in my home country, I wanted to get X-ray pictures taken to examine the extent of the damage.

After browsing the internet, I read about Ruitai Kouqiang on dianping (http://www.dianping.com/shop/5356810). The reviews were very positive. I decided to simply go there to make an appointment, rather than trying to make myself clear through the telephone. I walked in at around 3.30pm, filled out my details on a registration form (passport not needed) and could see a dentist straight away. She (doctor Wang) spoke some English, but mostly we conversed in Chinese. I explained the problem, told her I would like to have an X-ray taken. She too thought it was a good idea to do that. I formally registrered at the hospital (6 RMB) and got a registration card. We then walked to the X-ray room. After several minutes waiting time, another dentist took the X-ray. The room was sufficiently clean and the tools were replaced with new disposal plastics. The photo was sent straight to the first dentist who concluded that there was no root damage. She then perfomed some tests on my tooth to check its sensitivity. All was fine.

This cost me a total of 30 minutes and only 36 RMB (30 RMB for the dentist and the X-ray and 6 for registration).

It was reasonably clean, staff spoke some English and were all very friendly. Upon asking whether non-Chinese speaking foreigners would be treated at the clinic, I was told that they would prefer to be able to communicate with the patient, so that if you do not speak sufficiently well Chinese, you should bring along someone who can translate.

I am sure this whole thing would have cost a billion RMB more at SOS or similar clinics. The name of the clinic in Chinese is 瑞泰口腔医院 (Rytime Dental). It is located very close to the Lishuiqiaonan subway station. Take exit D and walk 100 meter south. Don't confuse it with the other dental clinic that you will pass on your way! Opening hours are from 8-20, every day of the year. Tel no: 01084828880.

If I want to have the tooth fixed, it will cost me an additional 2800-3600 RMB, doctor Wang told me. Depending on the cost of this treatment in my home country I may decide to go ahead with this. If so, I will write another update here.

I highly recommend Prettysmile dental. I've never met a nicer group of people and felt so comfortable in a dentist office ever. Dr Lily did an amazing job on my teeth transformed my smile and my look in a matter of hours. I love you guys!!!!western trained dentist, very professional! foreign diplomats often visit there....They were wonderful! Highest rating!

my vote goes for Pretty Smile Dental in Sanlitun Soho, western trained dentist!

I had lost a filling for a molar on my lower left side and visited Joinway Dental this week for what I had originally hoped to be an extraction. I already had the upper molar removed due to an impacted wisdom tooth and didn't see any reason to keep the lower tooth that doesn't have an upper molar to chew properly. Dr. Jane Zhang greeted me at her office after I spoke with her over the phone earlier that day. During the conversation over the phone she told me that it would cost around 850 RMB for an extraction. I looked at the rates on her website and had assumed that it included x-rays, consultation, etc. However, when I arrived and was seated in the dentist chair she simply took a metal tool and began knocking it against each tooth to see if any of them hurt. About 5 minutes later she said in the typical Chinese broken English that "it would be a pity if I were to have it pulled and that she could perform a root canal for a fair price". I explained to her that I had only expected to pay 850 RMB that afternoon and I would need to arrange a payment plan. She said that it would be fine. Again, when I looked at the website it said that a root canal would cost 1200 RMB. So..... I decided to trust her opinion knowing that I could afford the fee for a root canal stated on her website by the following weekend. She gave me two shots to numb the area and then she gave me a pair of safety glasses. I knew that what was coming next was not going to be pleasant. For the next half hour she took a drill and proceeded to file away as I lay there wincing in pain, had to deal with the smell of burning tooth and witnessed pieces of it flying everywhere. She then took another needle to open the area in order to drain the infection which is almost always the cause of dental pain. She would have me rinse and spit a few times during the procedure. After that was complete she got up and told me that we were finished for the day. I had my wisdom teeth pulled before in the US and was well aware of the fact that I was dealing with an infection. Something she restated back to me after I had said it to her 2-3 times. We went back out to the lobby where her assistant processed the credit card payment on my Chinese bank account. I asked her then about prescribing pain and antibiotic medication for me until my next visit without her even giving me a reply. I looked at the bill and it went from 1200 RMB for a root canal to almost 6000 RMB in total(minus the 850 I paid that afternoon). That was it she said to come back the following Saturday with the remaining 4800 RMB for her to finish it while waiting for the infection to somehow "magically" disappear on its own. I got home and for the next 8 hours everything seemed fine with the exception that my bill was now almost 6000 RMB instead of 850 for a simple extraction. The following day I woke up in agony unable to sleep much the whole night. I texted her and said that I needed an antibiotic and the appropriate pain medication. She replied stating that "(she)told me to get antibiotic" which was not true. I asked her how/where I can obtain antibiotic two more times this week and she has yet to reply. My experience with her was absolutely the worst experience I have ever seen visiting a dentist and I will never go back. I made sure to cancel my followup appointment with her when it occurred to me that she would not inform me about how I should obtain the medicine that even she herself admitted I needed. It was the most ridiculous back and forth of text messages I have ever experienced. I would tell her that I need medicine and she would reply with.... "you need medicine." That was it. No matter how many times I would ask her to prescribe medicine for me she either didn't get it or she didn't care. It makes me really glad that I didn't use/waste my travel insurance at her office and opted to pay in cash. The reason why I am posting this comment here is because someone posted here that visiting her was "really a magic way". "Magic" in the sense that unicorns and fairy dust are magic maybe.... Or "magic" insofar that 850 RMB magically disappeared while I still sit here in agony 4 days later waiting to see a(hopefully) better dentist this weekend. Dr. Jane Zhang never took an x-ray nor did she even bother to prescribe medicine for the pain and infection. She gave me two shots and drilled away as if there was gold in there to be discovered... and I'm sure that in her mind there was. In summary, Dr. Jane Zhang is the absolute worst dentist I have ever encountered in my life.

Our daughter has a permanent retainer that was glued to the back of her upper teeth at Marquette University Dental School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The retainer came loose last week, so we contacted the orthodontic professor at Marquette who had supervised the work on our daughter. He is a Peking University Dental School graduate, and he recommended that we see one of his former classmates. Dr. Yuehong Tian (who spoke fluent English with us) and her partners just opened a practice in a new location that was immaculately clean and even had some English books in the waiting room (including 4 books by Malcolm Gladwell). Our daughter's problem was fixed quickly for an exceptional price. We highly recommend Dr. Tian.

The practice is located 5 minutes walking from ShaoYaoJu subway stop on the 10. Turn right after you come out of exit E from the 10, and then turn right again when you come to the first small street. Walk about 300 meters until you see a coffee shop on your left in a 2 story building. The office is on the second floor with its entrance between the coffee shop and a real estate office. There are posters for Invisaline braces in the window. The office phone number is 8429 7531, and the receptionist spoke at least some English. (My husband also completed the intake forms in English as well.) Although I suspect it isn't normal practice, we made our appointment via Dr. Tian's email address which is (with spaces removed): 13911023021 @ 139 . com . The name of the practice and the address in Chinese are: 诚品口腔, 太阳宫二街三号院(红玺台)11号楼二层

Another good choice might be PKU's dental clinics. I have been to one of their branches in Jiahui International Center for my orthodontic treatments. It has a quite elegant environment, unlike other dental clinics in beijing. What surprised me most is one of their orthodontics was studied in CASE Western before. That's a top private university in my hometown Cleveland, OH. The treatment was neat and staffs there were very friendly. Anyway, I am satisfied with my orthodontist and the price is reasonable (roughly 3000 USD). I highly recommend this one.

Just went to SDM At China World Trade Centre for dental treatment, the place is a bit hard to find as there seems to be no English sign. However, the place is new, very clean, and well appointed in terms of technical equipment. The nurses dont seems to speak much English but the Dentists do. The Prices are listed at the Reception and as an example I had two temp fillings in a full Xray for RMB 1580. My only issue was that the Dentist while more than capable was not as gentle as others I have had (Where I could hardly notice they even had thier hands in my mouth). Other than that. I can certainly recomend them should the need arise and they accept all major credit cards inc Amex.

I promised to myself to post after my treatment has finished so that I can share my experience and maybe help those who are hesitating to go to dentist or not.
I had a terrible toothache that I could no more bear so had to decide to go to dentist in Beijing. I have been to 3 dentists and here is what happened:

1. First I went to IDC dental where the dentist said after knocking my painful tooth and checking the x-ray that he could see nothing, so he just gave me antibiotics as it should solve my problem.

2. A week later and after taking the antibiotics, the pain became even stronger and I decided to visit another hospital, the famous United Family hospital. Since I have had the x-ray from IDC, I showed it to the dentist there however the dentist said that the x-ray just does not show the gum part, we have to take a new x-ray. And yes, in the new photo, we could see the infection that bothered my tooth at the roots. The dentist suggested me a root canal ending with a crown for 16000 RMB. Fortunately (now I would say) I started to cry considering it as a plenty of money. A person noticed it and came to me to say that if it was expensive, I could go to see Peking University School of Stomatology (北大口腔医院 Beida kouqiang yiyuan) which is the best Chinese dental hospital in Beijing, and probably would get the same quality of treatment for less price.

3. Although I had to queue up for 3 hours early in the morning, at Beidakouqiang I got the chance to see one of the best specialists! I told her to extract my tooth as it had been for 2 weeks already that I had the pain. She said no way, she can save this tooth and the whole treatment (root canal and filling, 3 sessions) would cost no more than 2000 RMB...And here I am, smiling and having my tooth with a nice white filling without any crown and unbearable pain. And my dentist could even explain in English what she was doing during the whole treatment.

In sum, I would suggest United Family for rich expats or those having dental treatment covered by insurance and DEFINITELY suggest Beidakouqiang to students or those with limited budget but high expectations.

My strong suggestion is that prevention of tooth hurts must be started since childhood. Last weekend I took my four years old niece to Joinway Dental, because they do activity for Children's Day every summer. Several items such as free dental and orthodontic check up and analysis;free pit and fissure sealant (PFS) for prevent cavity.
Besides their professional treatment, dentists there can calm kids down. That is really a magic way.

Let me know your opinion, please.

I had a severe tooth ache (front top incisor) after 2 weeks in Beijing having had a botched filling done in the UK.

I tried SOS but they charged me 1,400 for a consultation and an x-ray and were quoting 12,000 for a root canal and flap surgery. After calling my insurance company it turned out they only cover the first 1000 of dental work (surprise surprise!) so I had to look for other options. The head dentist at SOS is an Iranian doctor of dental surgery, and highly experienced. Unfortunately that comes with a price tag, so only worth it if someone else is paying!

On a personal recommendation I then tried SDM. They did an emergency root canal the same day for 1200, and are fitting me for a pole (titanium rod for support 4000 RMB) and crown (to prevent to tooth from splitting 4,500 RMB). In total it's going to be about 11,000, which is about 1/4 of what SOS would have charged (they were quoting 12,000 just for the root canal and some other work, the crown would have been a fortune)

SDM's English is good (I was using the China overseas Plaza branch), although made harder when the dentist is wearing a mask! She has a Masters in dentistry. On the whole I've been impressed with the service, everything is very clean and they call the next day to make sure that you're okay. The permanent crown is being made now and I'm waiting to see how that looks. Fingers crossed!

My vote goes to IDC, came widely recommended and they did a sterling job when my front tooth was sliced in half by a football stud - now it looks like new - and for a very reasonable price.

Agreed with cleanliness. I had one scary experience where dentist had to use one use sterile prepackaged 'all-in-one' kits as the entire clinic was never cleaned. he used his left pinkie to operate the switches.
Also the dentists are CLUELESS about preventative or diagnostic practices. They basically expect you to know which tooth has a problem and know what operation you want. Otherwise they just say 'we can do this - from 80 to 2800 RMB', your choice, your problem. They are not professional enough to use the best treatment that is most cost effective, nor well trained enough to be able to diagnose potential conditions and suggest appropriate remedial action.
I don't think the SOS or Beijing United offer better service (although they look cleaner) - they just ask for even more money!

my vote goes for IDC Dental

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The problem with dentists in Beijing is that the places are usually dirty. Added to that the overcharging of patients especially if you are foreign makes people not want to go to the dentist here, many would rather hop on a plane and get their dental work done elsewhere. If someone in his daily life has poor hygiene can you trust them their teeth or anything else for that matter? I think not.