About Clinic Shortlist
What Clinic Shortlist covers, what it is not, and how to check a doctor’s or dentist’s licence in the UAE before any treatment.
Choosing a clinic in the UAE often starts with an advert, a social media post or a friend’s tip, and none of these tells you much about who will actually treat you. Clinic Shortlist is an independent guide to private clinics across the country, grouped by what they treat, for residents and visitors who want to compare a few clinics before they book a consultation.
What you will find
Lists of aesthetic clinics, dental clinics, orthodontists, dermatologists, plastic surgeons, hair transplant clinics and laser hair removal clinics, for cities such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Ain. Some treatments get pages of their own in the cities where clinics offer them: dental implants, Hollywood smile and veneers, Invisalign, paediatric dentistry, HydraFacial and Morpheus8. Others, such as Botox, dermal fillers, teeth whitening or laser hair removal for men, are buttons inside a city list. Each clinic also gets its own page: the treatments it offers, its location and opening hours, the languages spoken there and, when the clinic publishes them, some of its prices.
Prices, VAT and insurance
Many clinics publish prices for laser hair removal sessions, anti-wrinkle injections or hair transplants per graft. Cosmetic treatments are usually not covered by health insurance and carry 5% VAT, while basic healthcare is zero-rated, so ask whether the price you are quoted includes VAT. Some clinics offer a free first consultation or payment in instalments. Ask before you book rather than after.
What we are not
Clinic Shortlist is not a clinic and does not give medical advice. It cannot judge whether a treatment suits you, what result you might get or what a fair price would be. We do not book appointments, we never charge patients, and we do not check each doctor’s licence ourselves, but the next section shows how you can. What you agree with a clinic stays between the two of you.
How to check a licence
Every doctor, dentist and clinic in the UAE needs a licence from the health regulator of the emirate where they practise: the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) in Dubai, the Department of Health (DOH) in Abu Dhabi, including Al Ain, and the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) for most of the northern emirates. Clinics inside Dubai Healthcare City answer to that free zone’s own authority, the DHCA.
Ask the clinic for the full name and licence number of the person who will treat you and check them with the right regulator. The licence also shows whether a doctor or dentist is registered as a general practitioner or as a specialist.