Patient stories
Kelly from Christchurch — 6 Emax Press veneers for a customer-facing job
Real patient story — a 35-44 Christchurch flight attendant travels to Picasso Dental Clinic for veneers at the May 2026 NZD price. NZD 3,600 clinical cost.
Kelly, 39, a Christchurch flight attendant, travelled to Picasso Dental Clinic in Ho Chi Minh City for 6 Emax Press veneers across the upper smile zone — NZD 3,600 total clinical cost (May 2026 Picasso price list, 1 NZD = 15,000 VND), a single 10-day trip with the design agreed 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.
Kelly is a Christchurch flight attendant in her late thirties who smiles for a living. After years of greeting passengers down a cabin aisle, she had grown self-conscious about a worn, slightly greying upper arch and had started closing her lips in crew photos. A Christchurch private clinic quoted her between NZD 9,000 and NZD 15,000 for six veneers — call it NZD 12,000 at the midpoint — and she shelved the idea for another year.
She sent us six phone photos of her smile after a late shift. 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 weighed up before booking
In her words from the post-trip survey: “I kept re-reading the quote to be sure I hadn’t missed a zero. My real worry wasn’t the price — it was ending up with chunky, over-prepped teeth that looked obviously fake to every passenger I leaned over.”
The pre-trip conversation focused on three things:
- Material: Emax Press, a lithium-disilicate ceramic with natural translucency at the edge, the same material her Christchurch quote was based on.
- Preparation: conservative 0.3 to 0.5 mm enamel reduction, limited to the six teeth that actually show. We sent the Turkey teeth explained page so she could see why aggressive crown-prep on healthy teeth goes wrong.
- Scope: six units, not eight or ten. We mapped her smile line and confirmed only the upper front teeth needed work, which kept both the prep and the cost down.
She booked roughly a month out and lined the trip up around a rostered block of days off.
The 10-day trip
| Day | What happened |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | CHC to SGN via Sydney. Evening arrival, hotel check-in in Thao Dien. |
| Day 2 | Consultation 10:00. Photographs, OPG, iTero digital scan. Portrait Sitting design session in the afternoon — shade, edge length, midline, and how the smile reads under hard lighting. |
| Day 3 | Preparation appointment. 6 upper teeth prepared, temporaries fitted. |
| Days 4–7 | Temporaries phase. We asked her to live with them, eat normally, and report any speech or bite concerns. She came in on day 5 to shorten the edges very slightly. |
| Day 8 | Final fit. Bonding, occlusion check, polish, photographs. |
| Day 9 | Short review appointment. Occlusion re-check. |
| Day 10 | Fly home, CHC via Sydney. |
All treatment was carried out at our HCMC Thao Dien branch. The temporaries phase was the step she valued most: “I didn’t realise the shape wasn’t locked in. I asked for the edges a touch less square and they redid them before anything went in permanently.”
What it cost end-to-end
| Line item | NZD |
|---|---|
| 6 Emax Press veneers (clinical) | 3,600 |
| Consultation + OPG + iTero | included |
| Return flight Christchurch to Ho Chi Minh City | 1,950 |
| Hotel — 10 nights, mid-range | 1,000 |
| Food and local transport | 550 |
| Total | 7,100 |
Against the NZ benchmark of NZD 9,000 to NZD 15,000 for six veneers, the gross saving was NZD 5,400 to NZD 11,400, and the net saving after travel was NZD 1,900 to NZD 7,900. Prices are clinical fees only and exclude any pre-trip work.
The thing she didn’t expect
In her words: “The temporaries felt strange against my tongue the first evening and I caught myself slurring one or two words. I’d half-expected to be hiding my mouth for a week. By the next morning the lisp was gone and I happily took photos at a rooftop café between appointments. Nobody had warned me that first night was normal — once I asked, the dentist explained it settles within a day, and it did.”
We have added a note about the first temporary night to the patient pre-trip pack. Real patient stories like this one are how we find the gaps.
What aftercare looked like back in Christchurch
Kelly booked her own NZ dentist for a bite check four weeks after the trip, confirmed before she flew. Her dentist reviewed the occlusion and signed off the case, and we received a copy of the report for her file. She has had one 6-monthly check since, which was clean. Her next review is scheduled.
Kelly’s three pieces of advice
From her survey response:
- “Build the trip around the lab, not the cheapest flight. The days between prep and fitting are when the ceramists do the real work — don’t squeeze them to make a tight return ticket.”
- “Bring two reference photos: one old smile you loved, and one under harsh light like your workplace. Mine helped them pick a shade that holds up on duty and off.”
- “Take the temporaries seriously and speak up. Asking for slightly less square edges before the finals went in is the reason I’m happy every time I catch myself in a mirror.”
See also
- Veneers pillar — the protocol, materials, and NZD pricing.
- Veneer care tips — what Kelly was told for home maintenance.
- Christchurch to Vietnam dental travel page — local benchmark and route logistics.
Request your own free NZD veneers 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 Kelly a real patient?
Yes. Kelly 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 veneers cost in NZD?
6 Emax Press veneers at NZD 600 per tooth = NZD 3,600 total clinical cost (May 2026 Picasso price list, 1 NZD = 15,000 VND). This excludes flights, accommodation, and any pre-trip work.
Why six veneers and not more?
Six upper units covered everything visible in Kelly's broad, customer-facing smile without preparing teeth that did not need it. Limiting the case to the teeth that actually show keeps the preparation conservative and the cost down.
What warranty applies to Emax veneers?
7-year written warranty on Emax Press veneers from Picasso. Manufacturer warranty applies in parallel. Warranty covers fracture or debonding not caused by trauma or untreated bruxism. See the full /warranty/ page for tier-by-tier terms.