Dental Tourism

An overview:

Travelling overseas for reasonable and inexpensive dental care, dental treatment, dental surgery, dental procedures, usually which are expensive in one’s own country is known as dental tourism. It is a subset of the sector known as medical tourism. It involves individuals seeking dental care outside of their local healthcare systems. Dental Tourism is a budding concept for a planned vacation along with total Dental solution and care. Also sometimes known as tooth tourism or dental travel, this isn’t a current concept. People who cannot afford and those who do not have a dental insurance are the ones who need to visit a dentist, to them dental tourism offers an elevated worthy alternative. In U.S, only 50% of the total population has dental insurance. Even those with comprehensive medical packages do not a have dental coverage. The main simple reason why many Americans go abroad for dental care is the price benefit that the foreign land offers and certainly it’s not uncommon to see an American go to the Mexico for bargaining deals on dental prosthetics, dental implants and discounts on dental crowns. While in Canada and certain parts of the European countries with national healthcare system, it’s the wide-ranging waiting list that results in their citizens turning towards other countries for their needs.

Cost and Quality

Dental tourism can offer a low cost and high quality alternative; people tend to opt for the best and affordable price and services in not one but various countries. However, India is capitalizing on its low cost and well-trained doctors to appeal to these "medical tourists" as it has some of the best hospitals and treatment centers in the world with the best facilities and with that its one of the most favored tourist destinations in the world. As health care costs skyrocket, patients in the developed world look overseas for medical care. India is capitalizing on its low cost and well-trained doctors to appeal to these "medical tourists". The cost of travelling to India is economical and the qualities of services are rather improved and enhanced than that found in the UK and USA. In fact, many patients are rather contented at the outlook of seeking medical attention in India while holidaying. Medical tourists find a true haven in India where medical tourism is promoted eloquently. Though tourists attach a variety of reasons for their travel, the major indicator is the cost for dental implants and dental surgery, which is generally cheap in India. For instance, a patient requiring root canal treatment might cost up to $600 and a tooth crowning may cost around $40000. However, same procedures cost around $35-125 in India.

While dental tourists may travel for a variety of reasons, their choices are usually driven by price considerations. Wide variations in the economics of countries with shared borders have been the historical mainstay of the sector. Patients who had travelled abroad to receive treatment revealed an average satisfaction rating of 84%, along with an average cost saving of $6,400, or 60% of the cost of their treatment locally. Cost is the sole reason why people considered Dental Tourism in the first place, but when it came to choosing which clinic to visit, quality was the deciding factor.

Reasons and Benefits

The benefits and reasons of Medical Tourism include its low cost, high quality, immediate service, great convenience and travel opportunities and usually their choices are driven by price contemplations. The historical mainstay of this sector can be directly pointed towards wide variations in the economics of countries who share borders, for e.g., the travel from Austria to Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia, the US to Mexico, from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland, Hungary, Turkey and Poland.

While medical tourism is often generalized to travel from high-income countries to low-cost developing economies, other factors can influence a decision to travel, including differences between the funding of public healthcare or general access to healthcare.

Here’s a look into the price differences and comparison of prices of treatment in various countries

From the above one can note considerable financial incentives to undertake exclusive treatment overseas, such activities including the travel expenses and accommodation can be exclusively lower than undertaking the same procedures at one’s own country.

Proper Groundwork

Merely going to a country as a tourist and having to find a dentist there rather than to find them on the internet, one would certainly be taking a big risk by just walking into a clinic without any prior research. Though prices can be researched online in comparison with various sites offering certain lists, more than that, one can also acquire a better idea as to the qualifications of dentists around the world. References, e-mail contacts can be obtained through e-mails and so also information regarding accommodations, travelling locally etc. Apart from this if you just walk into any unknown clinics, you don’t know the amount they charge, or if they are really reputed and known. Hence prices are not the only consideration. For example, in Mexico, many dentists have taken a course for a couple of months and started placing dental implants who are just regular general practitioners. One cannot expect them to do a good job as some specialist who has an intense 2 years training on implants and one who is now a certified as a trained super specialist. Usually internet provides options to ask for credentials, references, prices beforehand, and schedule with the respective clinic to get the work done in a lot quicker manner, without much delays and with this one can certainly take an conversant resolution and choose sensibly.

Choosing the Right Location

The most important among various considerations is the location because if one goes all the way to any country namely India or Singapore or Argentina for a dental procedure, and then there are few complications or any wrong that might happen in the future, it would be a long way to go back again to the same destination and get if fixed. Hence the best way would be to choose a place that’s easily accessible and so are the people choosing to go to Tijuana, Mexico from US. As procedures require numerous steps, or succeeding checkups, the patient may have to return to the same doctor for multiple reasons.

Conclusion

People residing in the UK, Europe are certainly looking ahead for a better and inexpensive dental care and nearly half of the population in the US is still without an appropriate dental coverage. Times have changed, and now one of the hottest destinations today for dental tourism is Budapest, Hungary. Superlative dental clinics with extremely well-trained dental care professionals await patients from outside and traveling to Budapest is simple to arrange, with direct flights operating daily. People from all over the world have begun to consider Budapest one of the capitals of dental tourism. Cash-rich multi-million dollar companies have abridged health benefits for employees. Several Fortune 500 companies are offering bonuses to employees willing to seek medical or dental care abroad, which in-turn saves the company money on insurance premiums.