Sam from Dunedin — single Osstem implant for a missing lower premolar

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. Tran Thanh Phong, Head of Implantology.

Sam is 49, a Dunedin builder who spends his days on cold scaffolding and his weekends fixing other people’s fences for nothing. He had cracked a lower left premolar on a hard crust the winter before, and what was left of it had to come out. The gap sat far enough back that it didn’t show, but he felt it on every bite, and his previous dentist warned the tooth above would start to over-erupt if it stayed empty.

A Dunedin private clinic had quoted him somewhere between NZD 6,000 and 7,000 for a single implant and crown — more than a fortnight’s wages for a self-employed builder. A mate from his footy club had flown to Hanoi for crowns the year before and wouldn’t stop talking about it, so Sam sent us his X-ray to see what the same job actually cost. We returned a written, itemised NZD quote within 24 hours: 1 Osstem implant at NZD 1,667 per implant = NZD 1,667 clinical cost.

The brand and bone conversation

Sam’s first question was the right one: was the cheap price hiding a no-name fixture? It wasn’t. Osstem is one of the most widely placed implant systems in the world and the same brand he could have been offered at home. We sent him the manufacturer documentation and the warranty terms before he booked anything.

His second concern was bone. From the OPG the premolar site looked to have good height and width, so no graft was anticipated — but we told him plainly that CBCT on arrival would have the final say, and that if a minor graft were needed we would price it before touching anything. As it turned out, the site was clean and no augmentation was required.

The two trips

Trip 1 — placement (5 days)

The winter healing gap

Sam timed the whole thing for the depths of the Dunedin winter, so the integration window fell across the coldest months when building work was slow anyway. We sent a 6-week and a 10-week remote check-in. His Dunedin dentist looked at the site at week 8 and was happy.

Trip 2 — crown (4 days)

Both trips were based at our Hanoi Westlake Square branch, on the quieter northern side of the city by the water.

What it cost end-to-end

Against the Dunedin range of NZD 6,000–7,000 for the clinical work alone, Sam’s entire trip — two return flights, nine nights, meals, and insurance included — landed at roughly the bottom of what the implant by itself would have cost at home. On the clinical figure alone he saved between NZD 4,300 and NZD 5,300.

The thing he didn’t expect

From his survey: “I’d braced myself for the surgery and it turned out to be the easy part — an hour, a bit of pressure, done. What caught me out was how flat I felt for a day or two afterwards, not in pain, just wiped out. I’d planned to wander the city straight away and ended up napping instead. Build a quiet day or two into the plan and you’ll be fine.”

We now flag a realistic rest day after placement in our pre-trip notes.

What aftercare looked like back in Dunedin

Sam had a routine check at his Dunedin dentist about six weeks after the crown went on. We sent a written aftercare summary and the implant passport recording the Osstem brand, lot, and batch. His Kiwi dentist checked the bite, added the implant to his file, and that was that.

12-month review by his Dunedin dentist — clean. 24-month check scheduled.

Sam’s three pieces of advice

1. “Get a written NZ quote and your X-rays sorted before you message anyone. It made the consult quick and gave me a real number to measure the saving against.”
2. “Don’t chase the cheapest price — ask who’s actually placing the implant and what brand it is. The brand was the same one I’d have got at home; that’s what sold me.”
3. “Block out a rest day after the surgery and pad the second trip with a few extra days. Healing doesn’t run to your schedule, and you’ll want to enjoy the place anyway.”

See also

• Single-tooth implant pillar — the protocol, brands, and NZD pricing.
• Implant aftercare — what Sam was told for home maintenance.
• Dunedin to Vietnam dental travel page — local benchmark and route logistics.

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About this page

Medically reviewed by

Dr. Tran Thanh Phong

Head of Implantology, Picasso Dental Clinic

DDS · 25+ years in practice · 15,000+ implants placed · 1,000+ All-on-4 cases

Clinical focus: Implantology · All-on-4 · Zygomatic implants

Dr. Tran Thanh Phong has practised since 2001 and leads implantology across the Picasso group. He was the first Vietnamese dentist to perform All-on-4 immediate loading (2010), placed over 15,000 implants across his career at roughly 600 per year, and has completed 400+ zygomatic implant cases since 2017. Loma Linda University-trained (2010). Clinical representative for Nobel Biocare in Vietnam since 2007.

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.