Kahurangi from Hamilton — 6 Emax Press veneers

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.

Kahurangi is 34, a Hamilton personal trainer who spends her day demonstrating form, counting reps, and talking nervous clients through their first session — all of it within arm’s reach of someone watching her face. Her two upper front teeth sat slightly crooked, with one overlapping the other, and she had spent years defaulting to a closed-mouth half-smile to hide it. She did not want braces in her thirties. An Hamilton private clinic had quoted her around NZD 12,000 to straighten the look of her smile with veneers — a figure she could not justify for a non-urgent, cosmetic fix.

She found us through a New Zealand search and sent smile photographs one evening. We returned a written, itemised NZD quote within 24 hours: 6 Emax Press veneers at NZD 600 per tooth = NZD 3,600 (May 2026 Picasso price list, 1 NZD = 15,000 VND), with a 7-year warranty.

What she actually wanted to know before booking

In her words from the post-trip survey: “My questions were really practical. Could veneers genuinely make my teeth look straight without me wearing anything for eighteen months? Would they shave my real teeth down to stumps to do it? And what happens if one chips while I’m lifting or someone’s elbow catches me at work?”

The pre-trip conversation answered each:

• The look: for mild crowding and the single overlap she disliked, shaped veneers can give the appearance of an even arch without moving the teeth. We were clear that veneers reshape the visible surface — they are not orthodontics — and that this approach suited her case but is assessed individually.
• The preparation: 0.3 to 0.5 mm conservative enamel reduction, not crown-style stumps. We sent the Turkey teeth explained page so she could see why aggressive preparation on healthy teeth goes wrong.
• The recourse: a written 7-year warranty, travel reimbursement if a re-do is required, and a New Zealand follow-up care note from the treating dentist.

She booked the flight a fortnight later.

The 10-day trip

The Portrait Sitting was the step she rated highest in the survey. “I told them I didn’t want a fake, blinding-white look. They mocked it up so I could see it before anything was permanent, and when I asked them to keep a bit of natural texture, they did.”

What it cost end-to-end

Against an Hamilton benchmark of NZD 9,000 to 15,000 for the same work, the gross saving was NZD 5,400 to 11,400, and the net saving after travel was roughly NZD 1,750 to 7,750.

She fitted the trip around a quieter patch in her client schedule and kept her core sessions running remotely.

The thing she didn’t expect

In her words: “Honestly, I expected the dental side to be the hard part. The surprise was my posture. I’d been ducking my head and angling away in conversations for years without noticing. About a week after the final fit I caught myself just looking a client dead in the eye and grinning. That habit was tied to my teeth the whole time and I never realised.”

Real patient stories like this one are how we learn which outcomes matter most to patients.

What aftercare looked like back in Hamilton

Kahurangi booked her own NZ dentist for a bite check before she flew, so it was confirmed in advance — four weeks after the trip. Her dentist reviewed the occlusion and signed the case off, and we added a copy of the report to her file. She has had one 6-monthly clean since, with the veneers reported intact, and her next check is scheduled.

Kahurangi’s three pieces of advice

From her survey response:

1. “Ask to see the mock-up before anything is permanent. Seeing the shape previewed took every bit of fear out of it — I knew exactly what I was getting.”
2. “Say out loud if you want natural over Hollywood. They’ll match it to your face, but only if you actually tell them. Don’t assume.”
3. “Plan to keep your routine going. I found a gym by the hotel and stuck to my habits during the temporaries days — it kept me sane and the week flew by.”

See also

• Veneers pillar — the protocol, materials, and NZD pricing.
• Veneer care tips — what Kahurangi was told for home maintenance.
• How long do veneers last — longevity by material.
• Hamilton 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.

Last clinically reviewed

28 May 2026

Published by

Picasso Dental Clinic

Review policy

Every medical procedure page on this site is reviewed by a named Picasso clinician before publication and re-checked when pricing, materials, or protocols change. Source documents are linked at the bottom of each page.