Patient stories
Ataahua from Tauranga — 8 Lisi veneers, premium smile makeover
Real patient story — a 25-34 Tauranga beautician travels to Picasso Dental Clinic in Da Nang for 8 Lisi porcelain veneers at the May 2026 NZD price. NZD 6,400 clinical cost.
Ataahua, 29, a Tauranga beautician, travelled to Picasso Dental Clinic in Da Nang for 8 Lisi veneers across her upper smile zone — NZD 6,400 total clinical cost (May 2026 Picasso price list, 1 NZD = 15,000 VND), 10-day trip end-to-end, with the design locked during the Portrait Sitting step on day 2.
Real patient story, shared with permission. This patient has consented to Picasso Dental Clinic publishing their experience to help other New Zealand patients. Treatment, material, NZD price, and timeline are accurate to the case archive. Reviewed by Dr. Emily Nguyen, Founding Clinical Director.
Ataahua is in her late twenties, a beautician in Tauranga who spends her days making other people look their best — and was quietly unhappy with her own smile in every selfie a client tagged her in. Her upper front teeth were uneven in length, slightly discoloured from years of strong coffee, and one lateral incisor sat behind the line. A Tauranga private clinic had quoted her NZD 16,000 to NZD 20,000 for 8 veneers across the smile zone. On a beautician’s income, that number sat untouched on a sticky note for the better part of a year.
She messaged us late one Sunday with seven phone photos and a single line: “I work in beauty, so this has to be right.” We returned a written, itemised NZD quote within 24 hours: 8 Lisi veneers at NZD 800 per tooth, total NZD 6,400 (May 2026 Picasso price list, 1 NZD = 15,000 VND), carrying a 7-year warranty.
What mattered most to a beauty professional
Her concerns were not the usual ones. From the post-trip survey: “I wasn’t scared of the dentist. I was scared of ending up with that flat, chalky, all-one-colour look you see on bad veneer jobs. My whole job is detail. I’d rather have my crooked tooth than a fake smile.”
So the pre-trip conversation was almost entirely about aesthetics and material:
- Material: Lisi, a high-translucency lithium-disilicate. We explained why it layers colour and catches light more like natural enamel than a flat monolithic block — the reason it sits in our premium veneer tier.
- Shade strategy: not a single bleach-white shade, but a graded result with a slightly warmer base and translucent incisal edges, photographed under several light temperatures.
- Preparation: minimal enamel reduction, preserving tooth structure. We sent her the Turkey teeth explained page so she could see what over-preparation looks like and why we avoid it.
She booked her flights a fortnight later.
The 10-day trip
| Day | What happened |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | TRG to DAD via Auckland and Singapore. Late arrival, hotel check-in, rest. |
| Day 2 | Consultation 09:30. Photographs, OPG, iTero digital scan. Portrait Sitting design session in the afternoon — over two hours on shade gradient, edge translucency, length, and midline, with reference photos she had saved from her own client work. |
| Day 3 | Preparation appointment 09:00 to 13:30. 8 upper teeth prepared with minimal reduction. Temporaries fitted to the agreed design. |
| Days 4–7 | Temporaries phase. We asked her to live in them for several days and report any speech, bite, or look concerns. She returned on day 5 to soften two edges by a fraction. |
| Day 8 | Final fit. Just under 4 hours. Bonding, occlusion check, photographs under three light settings. |
| Day 9 | Review appointment, 30 minutes. Polish, occlusion re-check, final photos. |
| Day 10 | Fly home, DAD via Singapore and Auckland. |
The shade work was what she rated highest. “They photographed the temporaries outside, in the chair, and under my phone torch. I’ve never had a dentist treat colour the way I treat it on a face. That’s when I relaxed.”
What it cost end-to-end
| Line item | NZD |
|---|---|
| 8 Lisi veneers (clinical) | 6,400 |
| Consultation + OPG + iTero | included |
| Return flight Tauranga to Da Nang | 2,100 |
| Hotel — 10 nights, mid-range | 1,000 |
| Food and local transport | 550 |
| Total | 10,050 |
Against the Tauranga benchmark of NZD 16,000 to NZD 20,000 for 8 veneers, the gross saving was NZD 9,600 to NZD 13,600, and the net saving after travel was NZD 5,950 to NZD 9,950.
She took 6 days of leave; the trip wrapped two weekends.
The thing she didn’t expect
In her words: “I assumed the temporaries would be rough placeholders I just had to survive. They weren’t — they were a working preview of the final shape, and that’s actually how I made my last tweaks. I almost didn’t bother going back on day 5 to adjust them, and I’m so glad I did, because those two edges are exactly right now in the real ones.”
We point new patients to her case for this reason: the temporaries are the rehearsal, not the waiting room.
What aftercare looked like back in Tauranga
Ataahua had her own NZ dentist booked for a bite-and-bond check before she even flew out, so it was locked in for 3 weeks after she landed home. Her dentist reviewed the occlusion and bonding margins and signed the case off. We received the report and filed it.
She has had one 6-monthly check since, clean, and a professional polish. The next is scheduled.
Ataahua’s three pieces of advice
From her survey response:
- “Bring your own reference images — good and bad. As someone in beauty I had strong opinions, and the design session is built for that. Vague instructions get vague results.”
- “Don’t skip the temporary adjustment visit. Those few millimetres on the edges are the difference between fine and exactly what you wanted. The previews are there to be used.”
- “Ask how they handle shade and translucency before you book, not after. If a quote is only ever about price per tooth, you’re missing the part that actually shows in photos.”
See also
- Veneers pillar — the protocol, materials, and NZD pricing.
- Veneer care tips — the home maintenance Ataahua was given.
- How long do veneers last — longevity by material.
- Tauranga to Vietnam dental travel page — local benchmark and route logistics.
Request your own free NZD veneer quote
About this page
Medically reviewed by
Dr. Emily Nguyen
Founding Clinical Director, Picasso Dental Clinic
DDS · Founder and Clinical Director, Picasso Dental Clinic group
Clinical focus: Cosmetic dentistry · Veneers · Smile design
Dr. Emily Nguyen founded Picasso Dental Clinic in 2013 (originally Serenity International Dental Clinic) and led its 2023 rebrand. She sets clinical standards across the group's six branches in Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Lat, and personally reviews cosmetic protocols including the Portrait Sitting workflow for veneers and smile makeovers.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ataahua a real patient?
Yes. Ataahua is a real Picasso Dental Clinic patient who has given written permission for us to share their experience with other New Zealand patients considering treatment. Treatment, material/brand, NZD price, and timeline are accurate to the case archive.
What did the 8 veneers cost in NZD?
8 Lisi veneers at NZD 800 per tooth = NZD 6,400 total clinical cost (May 2026 Picasso price list, 1 NZD = 15,000 VND). This excludes flights, accommodation, and any pre-trip work.
Why Lisi instead of a cheaper porcelain?
Lisi is a high-translucency lithium-disilicate veneer chosen for cases where colour layering and light behaviour matter most — a working beauty professional's smile is photographed daily. It carries Picasso's premium veneer tier and a 7-year warranty.
What warranty applies to Lisi veneers?
7-year warranty on Lisi veneers from Picasso, with the manufacturer warranty applying in parallel. It covers fracture or debonding not caused by trauma or untreated bruxism. See the full /warranty/ page for tier-by-tier terms.