Hanoi, Da Nang, or Ho Chi Minh City: Which Picasso Branch Suits Your Trip?

We operate clinics in Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City. For most New Zealand patients the flight time to all three is similar, but the experience on the ground is not. The right branch depends on what you are having done, how many days you have, and whether you want a beach recovery or a city one.

If you are having implants or a full-arch case, our Hanoi clinics are the natural starting point. If you are coming for veneers or a smile makeover and want to recover somewhere gentle and beautiful, Da Nang pairs with Hoi An in a way that is hard to beat. If you travel to Vietnam regularly for work or want maximum flight options, Ho Chi Minh City is the most connected of the three.

What you are really deciding

Most patients who email us have already chosen Vietnam. The question they are trying to answer is: which city do I actually fly to?

There are three real anxieties behind that question. First, will I be comfortable during the recovery days when I am not in the chair? Second, does the clinical team at that branch have the specific experience my treatment requires? Third, what does the trip look like in total — the flights, the neighbourhood, the food — when I cannot eat properly for a few days?

This page answers all three. We will not pretend the branches are identical. They are not. The right answer depends on your treatment.

Branch comparison at a glance

The case for each branch

Hanoi: the right choice for complex treatment

Our two Hanoi clinics — the Old Quarter flagship and the Westlake Square branch — are where our implantology team is most established. Dr. Tran Thanh Phong, our Head of Implantology, has placed over 15,000 implants and has been doing immediate-loading All-on-4 since 2010. If your case involves All-on-4, All-on-6, zygomatic implants, bone grafting, or a full-mouth reconstruction with multiple implants, Hanoi is where you want to be.

The Old Quarter is one of the most walkable neighbourhoods in Southeast Asia. During your recovery days — the days between appointments when you need to keep activity light and stick to soft food — the area is genuinely pleasant to move through slowly. Pho and congee are everywhere, portions are gentle on the jaw, and the streets are compact enough that you are never far from your accommodation.

Hanoi also has distinct seasons, which matters for Kiwis travelling in January and February. That period falls in winter, with temperatures around 17–22°C — cooler than you might expect from Vietnam, but comfortable for a post-procedure patient who should not be sweating in the heat.

Weather caution: avoid Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year, late January to early February). The city closes down, our clinics operate at reduced hours, and many restaurants serving recovery-appropriate food shut. Check the Tet date for your year before booking.

Da Nang: the right choice for cosmetic treatment and first visits

Our Da Nang branches — one on Hoàng Diệu in the main city and one inside Vinmec International Hospital on the beachfront road — are the strongest match for patients coming primarily for veneers, crowns, or a smile makeover.

The practical reason is recovery. My Khe Beach is ten minutes from both branches. Hoi An, the ancient trading town with outstanding food and a completely walkable heritage core, is 30 minutes south. In the days between your preparation appointment and your fit appointment, you have somewhere genuinely enjoyable to be that requires no strenuous activity and offers an abundance of soft, recovery-friendly food.

Our Vinmec Hospital branch is also worth noting for any patient who has a pre-existing medical condition that requires access to broader hospital services during their stay. Vinmec is a private international hospital; having our dental clinic embedded in that building offers a level of clinical backup that standalone dental clinics cannot match.

Da Nang is also the most popular beach holiday destination for Australian and New Zealand package tourists right now, which means direct flights and flight frequency are improving year on year.

Weather caution: avoid late August through October. Da Nang sits in Vietnam’s typhoon corridor and receives the bulk of Central Vietnam’s annual rainfall in that period. January and February are warm, dry, and ideal.

Ho Chi Minh City: the right choice for experienced travellers and maximum connectivity

Our HCMC clinic is in Thảo Điền, the international residential district of District 2. It is a different kind of stay from Hanoi or Da Nang — quieter than the city centre noise, well-stocked with international-standard restaurants and cafes, and easy to reach from Tan Son Nhat Airport without crossing the full city.

HCMC makes the most sense if you already know Vietnam and have a preference for urban comfort over tourism atmosphere, or if you are combining your dental trip with regional travel. HCMC has the most frequent international connections of the three cities — direct and near-direct flights to Bangkok, Bali, and Singapore are easy to add to either end of your dental trip if you want to extend the holiday.

For the treatment itself, our HCMC team handles the full range of cosmetic and restorative procedures. For complex implant staging requiring multiple trips, however, keeping your care within one city is simpler — Hanoi is typically easier for NZ patients to commit to twice because the flight and accommodation routine becomes familiar.

Our clinical standards are the same across all branches

All six of our clinics operate under the same materials, protocols, and pricing. When you receive a treatment plan from us, the price and the materials are not branch-dependent. An Emax Press veneer is the same Emax Press veneer whether it is fitted in Hanoi, Da Nang, or HCMC. Our CBCT 3D imaging, digital scanning, and sterilisation protocols are the same everywhere.

The practical difference between branches is the clinical team’s depth in specific treatment types, not the standard of care. That is why implant complexity is the main factor that points toward Hanoi — not because Da Nang or HCMC lack qualified dentists, but because our most experienced full-arch and zygomatic implant specialists are concentrated there.

When two trips are involved

Implant treatment and All-on-4 protocols typically require two trips: the first for extractions, implant placement, and provisional restoration; the second, three to six months later, for the permanent prosthesis.

If that applies to you, the practical advice is to pick one city and stay with it. Your full medical file, CBCT scans, treatment plan, and clinical relationship are all established at that branch. Switching from our Hanoi branch to our Da Nang branch between Trip 1 and Trip 2 is possible — your records transfer within the group — but it adds administrative steps and changes your clinical team. For most patients, consistency across both trips is more important than variety of Vietnamese city.

A word on combining dental with travel

We are a dental clinic, not a tour operator, and the right trip structure is one where your treatment gets the time it needs. Overdoing activity in the first two to three days after fitting veneers or placing implants — long bus rides, heavy luggage, strenuous sightseeing — is the most common cause of patient discomfort that was entirely avoidable.

The trips that go best are the ones that build two or three gentle recovery days into the itinerary from the start. In Da Nang that means Hoi An. In Hanoi that means the Old Quarter and the lakes. In HCMC that means the Thảo Điền riverfront cafes. All three cities give you that option without forcing a strenuous tourism agenda.

Getting your quote before you decide

You do not need to decide on a city before you contact us. When you send us your treatment enquiry — six phone photos and an OPG x-ray if you have one — we will return a written NZD treatment plan and can advise you on which branch suits your case best. For most cosmetic cases, any of our three cities works. For complex implant cases, we will tell you directly if Hanoi is the stronger choice.

Request a free NZD quote — we will come back to you within 24 hours on business days with a written plan, branch recommendation, and a rough total-trip estimate so you can compare actual numbers before you book anything.

Frequently asked questions

Are prices the same at all three locations? Yes. Our price list is group-wide. The treatment you receive is quoted and billed at the same rate regardless of which branch you visit.

Can I start treatment in one city and finish in another? Yes, with planning. Your records, scans, and treatment notes transfer within the group. We recommend keeping both appointments in the same city where possible, particularly for staged implant protocols, because consistency in your clinical team reduces handover risk.

Which city is best for New Zealanders travelling in January? Da Nang and HCMC are the most comfortable in January — warm, dry, and well-suited to outdoor recovery activities. Hanoi is cooler and pleasantly temperate, which some patients actually prefer post-procedure. All three are good choices; avoid Hanoi in late January if it overlaps with Tet.

Do all branches offer the full range of treatments? All branches offer cosmetic dentistry, general restorative work, implants, orthodontics, and whitening. Our most complex full-arch and zygomatic implant cases are primarily handled by our Hanoi clinical team. If you are unsure, tell us your treatment and we will confirm which branch is the right fit.

How do I know which doctors will be treating me? Once your treatment plan is confirmed and your appointment dates are set, we will introduce you to your clinical team by name and specialty. All of our dentists are introduced to patients in advance of their arrival, not on the day.

Is there a cost difference between the Vinmec Hospital branch in Da Nang and the Hoàng Diệu branch? No. Both Da Nang branches operate the same pricing. The Vinmec branch is located inside an international hospital building, which provides additional clinical backup infrastructure, but the dental pricing is identical to our standalone branch.