In short:
Vietnamese dental clinics are targeting Australians through social media, prompting more people to travel there for cheaper dental work.
asserted
clinics → target → work
The country's Health Ministry says Australians are among the top foreign nationalities receiving medical treatment there.
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Australians → say → treatment
Vietnam hopes to increase its medical tourism sector and attract twice as many international patients over the next four years, which has Australian dentists concerned.
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dentists → hop → years
Wendy Middleton used her hands to hide her "awful teeth" when she spoke for more than 20 years.
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she → use → years
The 67-year-old from Adelaide's north had stopped going to the dentist years ago because she said she "couldn't afford it".
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she → stop → it
She was in so much pain, she could not eat properly and needed urgent dental work.
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she → eat → work
She said the public waiting list was too long and her local dentist quoted her about $40,000 to fix her teeth, which required multiple crowns and extractions.
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which → say → crowns
"There's no way I could afford it," she told the ABC.
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she → be → ABC
"I'd be paying it off for the rest of my life."
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I → pay → life
Then the casual disability care worker started to see advertisements on social media for dental tourism packages in Vietnam.
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worker → start → Vietnam
For about a third of the cost of the work in Australia, she was promised the same dental procedure along with flights, accommodation, visas, airport transfers, meals and medication.
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she → promise → flights
She was initially worried it was "a scam", but after conducting her own research, she said she was willing to take the risk and booked the package.
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she → worry → package
According to Smartraveller, dentistry is one of the most common medical procedures that Australians travel overseas for.
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Australians → accord → that
However, it is hard to know exactly how many head abroad for medical work because Australia does not track this information.
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Australia → know → information
One dental practice operating in Hanoi and Da Nang, Australian Dental Clinic, told the ABC the "majority" of their foreign clients were from Australia.
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majority → operate → Australia
"We do see an increase in the flow of Australian visitors," practice manager Nguyen Nam said.
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Nam → see → visitors
Vietnam's Health Ministry also lists Australians as one of the top nationalities receiving medical treatment in the country.
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Ministry → list → country
While Ms Middleton's experience of having dental work in Vietnam was positive, consultant prosthodontist Scott Davis said he often saw patients returning from abroad with negative outcomes.
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patients → have → outcomes
Dr Davis, a spokesperson for the Australian Dental Association, said Australians travelling overseas for dental work had become "a bigger problem" in recent years.
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Australians → say → years
"I see a lot of people who've had complications," Dr Davis told the ABC.
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Davis → see → ABC
"Ultimately, if I travel a very long way to have dental treatment, I'm trying to condense what normally might take three to six months into two weeks.
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what → travel → weeks
"Biology just doesn't listen to that."
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Biology → listen → that
He said he wished Australia, like the United Kingdom, collected information about citizens who have adverse outcomes from medical work abroad so the scale of the problem was clearer.
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scale → say → problem
Aussies targeted with social media advertisements
Dentists in Vietnam are actively targeting Australians through social media advertisements and influencers to drum up more business.
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Dentists → target → business
It was how Ms Middleton and many other clients of Vietnamese dentistry practices first became aware of the services.
"
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Middleton → become → services
That's what I've been watching because it has been growing," said associate professor Giannina Warren.
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Warren → watch → what
Dr Warren is the senior program manager in communications at RMIT University Vietnam with expertise in place branding — how cities and destinations promote themselves.
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cities → promote → themselves
She said it was "interesting" how many Australians and New Zealanders were creating content of their dental tourism experiences in Vietnam through TikTok and Instagram.
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Australians → say → TikTok
"This is happening in the digital space, and it's happening in an organic, user-generated way," she said.
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she → happen → way
She said popular dental clinics in Vietnam were also using targeted Facebook advertisements and online videos to build their brand and business.
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clinics → say → brand
Vietnam plans to expand medical tourism industry
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Vietnam → plan → industry
Despite warnings from the Australian government about the risks involved, Asia has been a common spot for Australians to seek out dental, medical and cosmetic work.
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Australians → involve → work
Almost half of Australian travellers have — or would consider — going overseas for a medical procedure, mostly due to the lower cost of treatment, according to 2025 data from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Insurance Council of Australia.
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half → have → Australia
Now, Vietnam has plans to become one of South-East Asia's leading medical tourism destinations.
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Vietnam → have → destinations
And that has Australian dentists, including Dr Davis, worried.
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dentists → have → Davis
About 300,000 foreign residents and visitors currently use medical services including dental, fertility treatment and other cosmetic procedures in Vietnam each year, according to Vietnam's Ministry of Health.
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residents → use → Health
But under a draft scheme being prepared by the Health Ministry, the Vietnamese government wants to more than double that, aiming to attract about 750,000 international medical tourists a year by 2030 by teaming up with the country's Department of Tourism.
"
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government → prepare → Tourism
I do think they have a long way to go in terms of building the narrative and working constructively with the private sector," Dr Warren said.
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Warren → think → sector
"That's the key thing when it comes to medical tourism, trust is the currency … and that has to come from a layer that's above the providers."
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that → come → providers
Dr Warren said she had been impressed with the medical care she had received in Vietnam since she moved a few years ago but the industry had a lot of room for growth.
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industry → say → growth
…and 25 more, not listed.