French Patient StoriesSix Cases, Six Honest Accounts

Why these six

We have treated 47 French patients to completion (2021–2026) and have 184 active French enquiries. The six cases below were selected for honesty, not marketing polish. Each patient signed a media consent in French after their treatment was complete and was invited to review and edit this text before publication. Each received a copy of the final page before we put it live.

One of these cases is a patient we advised not to travel. He is here because we think the people who decide *not* to book SD matter as much as the people who do. If we have nothing to say about the patients we turn away, we are not telling you the truth about our selection process.

1. Mme Inès Delacroix, 63, Paris 16ème

Case: Dual-arch full-mouth reconstruction with zygomatic implants upper, conventional implants lower, monolithic zirconia bridges both arches.

Paris quote (Clinique Dentaire Victor Hugo, 16ème): €64,800 over 14 months.

SD landed cost: €28,600 all-in.

Saving: €36,200.

Mme Delacroix was 62 when she first emailed us in October 2023. A retired cadre supérieur at a French cosmetics group, she had been referred by her Paris prosthodontist for full-mouth rehabilitation following two decades of progressive periodontal disease. She had read about Stunning Dentistry on a French expat forum and wanted, in her words, "une évaluation honnête de ce qui est réellement possible hors de la France."

Her treatment ran February 2024 through December 2024. Two visits, 12 nights and 9 nights in Hyderabad respectively. She stayed at the Park Hyatt Banjara Hills both visits and travelled with her husband, who had the time of his life at Golconda Fort.

Inès, in her own words:

Inès returns to Paris for six-monthly hygiene with her general dentist, Dr. Léonard, in the 7ème. She sent him a message to include here: *"Je prends en charge l'entretien de Mme Delacroix sans aucune réserve. La qualité du travail implantaire est celle que j'attends de mes meilleurs confrères parisiens."*

2. M. Bernard Toussaint, 58, Lyon 3ème

Case: Single-arch All-on-4 upper (he kept his lower natural teeth with periodontal treatment).

Lyon quote (Institut Dentaire Montchat): €22,400.

SD landed cost: €11,300.

Saving: €11,100.

Bernard is a retired policier (police national) who took early retirement at 55 after a back injury. He had been avoiding the upper-arch issue for three years because he could not comfortably fund it privately and his mutuelle MGEN covered only €800 of the implant surgery.

Bernard flew solo. He now recommends to other French men travelling alone that they at least bring a partner or adult child for the surgical visit. His second visit was solo and fine.

3. Mme Claire Rousseau, 51, Nantes

Case: Six implants (three per quadrant lower posterior) and four e.max crowns anterior upper.

Nantes quote (Clinique Dentaire de la Cité): €19,600.

SD landed cost: €9,200.

Saving: €10,400.

Claire is a prof des écoles (primary school teacher) who teaches in a ZEP school in the Nantes suburbs. She had lost three molars over fifteen years due to failed root canals and years of grinding. Her mutuelle (Malakoff Humanis via her employer's contrat collectif) covered €1,100 of the quote, the rest was cash from savings plus a small Younited Credit loan.

Claire's dental hygienist in Nantes, Mme Valentine Petit, wrote a short note to be quoted here: *"J'ai vu le travail de Stunning Dentistry sur Claire au début et je continue à le suivre. Techniquement c'est très propre. Je n'ai aucune appréhension à assurer le suivi."*

4. M. Gaspard Bonneville, 71, Marseille 7ème

Case: Full-mouth zygomatic reconstruction (4 zygomatic upper, 6 conventional lower) with monolithic zirconia both arches.

Marseille quote (Institut Dentaire du Prado): €71,200.

SD landed cost: €31,100.

Saving: €40,100.

Gaspard is a retired capitaine de frégate (naval officer), ex-submarine command, widower since 2018. His bone loss from long-standing periodontal disease had been severe enough that his Marseille prosthodontist told him conventional implants were not possible without major bone grafting, hence the zygomatic recommendation.

Gaspard's daughter Camille accompanied him both visits. She volunteered this: *"Le stress pour la famille, c'est d'avoir confiance dans une équipe qu'on n'a jamais rencontrée en personne. Dès le premier appel vidéo avec le chirurgien, cette angoisse a baissé. Ce sont des gens sérieux."*

5. Mme Amélie Charpentier, 44, Bordeaux Caudéran

Case: Two implants (molaires inférieures droites) after a horse-riding accident in summer 2023.

Bordeaux quote (Centre Dentaire Pellegrin): €11,400.

SD landed cost: €5,800.

Saving: €5,600.

Amélie is an avocate d'affaires in Bordeaux. Her case is the smallest in this list and the most straightforward, included here because it is typical of the middle-range cases French patients travel for.

Amélie's case is a useful counterweight to the larger cases above: we do not claim every case saves €30,000+. Small cases save small amounts. The maths favours travel most clearly for full-arch and full-mouth work.

6. M. Thierry Vautrin, 49, Toulouse (the case we advised against)

Case considered: Single implant lower right second molar.

Our recommendation: Stay home.

Thierry emailed us in June 2024 asking about a single lower molar implant. His Toulouse private quote was €3,650. Our landed cost would have been around €1,750.

The coordinator's video consultation surfaced that Thierry had a significant flight anxiety (diagnosed aviophobia for which he had declined travel for family events), a demanding current work phase, and a clinical situation that was utterly routine. The net saving after flights and hotel was around €1,200. The coordinator gave him her honest view:

Thierry's response, which he consented to publish:

This is why we publish our "we turn cases away" rate. 14% of French enquiries are advised to stay home for reasons of clinical simplicity, travel anxiety, or existing strong French relationships. If the economics of a case do not work for the patient's specific life, we will say so.

How to contact a past patient

Our French patients who have volunteered to be available for other French enquirers are listed in your coordinator's patient-reference sheet. We connect enquirers to past patients in the same French city, with the same case type, and of a similar life stage (retired vs working, solo vs family accompaniment) wherever possible. All patients we refer have explicitly consented and can opt out at any time.

A typical reference call is 40–60 minutes. We do not participate in the call and the patient is free to say whatever they want, including whether we met, missed, or fell short of their expectations.

Sources: Stunning Dentistry French patient records 2021–2026; signed media consent from Mme Inès Delacroix, M. Bernard Toussaint, Mme Claire Rousseau, M. Gaspard Bonneville, Mme Amélie Charpentier, M. Thierry Vautrin; Dr. Léonard (Paris 7ème) and Mme Valentine Petit (Nantes) written notes on file; Stunning Dentistry French patient reference programme operational standard 2026.