HH has got me on ignore - but Manila might not be the best for dental work. If you are on a budget (as you would be to visit for dental) it's not that cheap in Manila for anything, and traffic, pollution and pests on the street are bothersome. The upmarket district where you avoid all that, Makati, is expensive. Better choices would be Angeles or Cebu, or even the mid-tier cities still have first world health facilities. I think Tiger and Air Asia fly into Angeles. Most Asian based airlines fly into Cebu.
Those dental referral websites take a reasonable fee. Use those sites or expat blogs to find a dentist on your own that you like the sound of and then phone or email them directly and tell them you are already residing in the Philippines. Speak slowly and the receptionist will eventually understand you no problem. Compare a few. Ask for the phone number of expat referees. They'll be less likely to rip you off that way. A good dentist will be as good as any ordinary one in the west. They will be perfectly fluent in English, will be half the price of Thailand if you get local rates, and fractions of Aussie rates. They will take their time. If you want really complex surgery then you will need to do your homework. Find out where the elite class go would be one option.
I can't give personal referees on dentists as I've only been to 3 in the last 10 years for nothing except routine check-up. But I've been meaning to find where the best surgeons outside Manila are, because the Philippines is increasingly becoming a better market for Aussie health tourism than traditional destination - Thailand.
They call the Philippines the land of smiles - so might as well get one there, even if out in the sticks most of them are toothless.
