Showing posts with label dentist doha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dentist doha. Show all posts

Friday, February 7, 2014

DOHA REVIEW: BRITISH INTERNATIONAL DENTAL CENTRE IN WEST BAY

Friday, February 07, 2014 11 Comments
Formidable wooden double doors greeting you on the 10th floor

After reading so many positive reviews online about this dental clinic, I decided to pay them a visit about my upper molar which was previously recommended for root canal (I know I am so young, but years of neglecting to floss and gargle took its toll on some of my teeth)

The female waiting room

I had my last filling done in Queen Dental in City Center, and after the last surgeon decided to shove his filthy fingers in my mouth before putting gloves over them I stopped going there. I had wanted to blog about it too, but figured it was just not worth it. Why ruin a perfectly good dental clinic over one dentist's poor hygiene? Having learnt my lesson, I was plucky when it came to deciding whom I wanted to grope around in my mouth at British Dental Center/Dr. Sarah's Dental Center.

The telly had a continuous show about the kind of teeth surgery/whitening/filling/dentures performed at the clinic and a clip about washing teeth the right way

Dr Sarah has two dental centers in Doha, one is behind a Mercedes showroom on Salwa Road and the other is in Salam Tower in West Bay, behind Tornado Tower. Au contrary to popular belief it is not the Salaam Tower opposite Renaissace/Marriot/City Center. This was highlighted when I called to make an appointment, when I asked if its the one on top of Salaam shopping mall, she was quick to correct me that its near Sheraton. When I actually went to the dental clinic, the receptionist was regaling tales of patients whom ended up in Salaam Tower and can't seem to get into the "dental office over there" Tehehe

The view from the waiting room

People got lost and confused so many times with both these Salam and Salaam Towers that they have resorted to printing Google Map of their West Bay branch with a picture of the building so patients would actually know how it looks like. You can't miss this tower, its visible from Tornado Tower/Monoprix. In a pyramid of skyscrapers, Salaam Tower is relatively short and ancient. Their lifts have wooden interior. Their lobby is no bigger than a living room. Salaam Tower has a twin tower located next to it, so look at the Google picture closely, the other tower is called Al-Mirqab Tower. If you're still confused, stand next to Tornado Tower (it should be on your left) and look ahead, Salam Tower is the one on the right. In the far distance, you can see Sheraton

Another angle

Now, I had to wait for about 30 minutes before I was ushered into the office. The service was impeccable, the staff filled my water bottle with water and the view form both the dentists' offices and waiting room was breathtaking. The whole of cornice and the sea in view from full length glass panels. I can imagine working here. It's just awesome

Price List

Now let get talk about the downside of this dental. I know they have a lot of Indian doctors, and a lot of expats in Doha are Caucasians and Asians are inferior in their eyes. Put the racism aside, and spend 10 minutes checking out the list of dentists available at the clinic and request for the dentist you are comfortable with. I had a both good and bad experiences with an Iranian doctors but that didn't stop me from making an appointment with Dr Fady Alian, a Middle Eastern in British Dental Clinic. I was told by the receptionist that he is the best for root canal and he was very good, his explanation was lengthy, his advise was non-judgmental and he was professional all the way. I came out feeling "better" already.


My insurance paid 80% of the fees so I paid about 65 bucks. My next appointment for the root canal is scheduled in July and that will be a wallet-shredder!


The dentist will always inform you upfront how much major surgery/filling/dentures etc will cost so its up to you if you want to go haead or cancel it. There was someone else before me, and that chap's dental cost about 4270 riyals (the dentist has forgotten to update to my profile so I could see the previous patient's cost total)

The aisle leading to the dentists' lair

I would recommend this dental center to you, if you're staying in West Bay. They doctors are fine, the receptionists are friendly and the service is great.

The reception desk

Try not to be racist, or feel that Asians/Indians/Middle Easterns are an inferior complex, put that all aside and you will have an enjoyable dental experience here

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Dental Experience at Doha

Saturday, April 20, 2013 3 Comments
The reception desk
Let me start by saying that not all doctors are bad in Doha, and we're pretty lucky we landed a really good dentist in Doha, which is like 20 minutes of walking distance from where we stay. My tooth first started aching when I was Malaysia and my husband; good natured as he is said that his insurance covered 80% of dental expenses but he was doubtful of the doctors here because some of his friends had really bad experience with the doctors in Doha. Like I said, it probably differs for each individuals and how much they're willing to spend for medical here, and what kind of insurance they have got themselves covered. We were lucky we had Daman which is a panel of Munich Health Insurance so we had pretty much alot of medical complications covered 100%.

The Queen Dental Center is located in City Center, Doha at West Bay. I went last week to fix my lower jaw second molar but he said the problem I had was not with the tooth itself but with the cavity build up in and around my teeth. I was thoroughly scolded by Dr Mahdi (he's the consultant there) for not using mouthwash and floss. He did an Xray and used a pen-like device with camera at the end of it to view and show me the decay and cavity in my teeth and gum. There was this one particular bad cavity that was eating my tooth away and it reached deep into my enamel. When he drilled the cavity out to cover it up with composite filling he saw that the tooth next to my upper jaw third molar was decaying also. And because he covered the first wound, he opened up a whole new wound at the molar next door (second molar) which then ended up hurting a lot every time I ate and the gums around the tooth started to bleed and was swollen by time I went for a follow up today at 6 with my husband. My insurance approval was taking forever to come through so the doctor grew impatient and he did my tooth first.


The doctors here at the clinic
The X-Ray room
The waiting room, segregated of course
The first appointment cost me about 2600 riyals and 80% of it was covered by my husband's insurance. This time I went back without paying because I had scheduled a third appointment next weekend with my husband to remove my second molar on my lower jaw off its amalgam filling, decay and cavity and cover that with composite filling. Also the tooth next to it is slowly decaying too so he is going to look into it too.




My husband had a chipped central incisor so he fixed that and because he smokes, he has really yellowed teeth and about 6 more tooth to fix-so he did the smart thing. He requested the dental clinic to bill him for all the 6 tooth and then paid the remaining 20% So all his consequence appointments are no more calculable

Overall I was very happy with the doctor and he spent a good amount of time explaining my teeth conditions.  Also scaling isn't so bad-contrary to many beliefs which two doctors there recommended me to do once every 6 months. Overall, I had a very good eye opening experience with the dentist in Doha

PS-bring your own USB to save all the X Ray and before after images