An increasing number of people are embracing dental tourism; after all, what’s not to love about the opportunity for cheaper dental implants AND a holiday all rolled into one? It certainly is an attractive option and you will hear of many success stories, but before you book your flight, here are some questions to ask.
1. Do you know enough about that country’s dental care to consider dental tourism?
When considering having any kind of medical or dental treatment abroad, it is advisable to find out about regulation, insurance and standards of care.
2. Will communication be a barrier to your comfort?
If you are uncertain about a part of the treatment or should something not go quite to plan, it is reassuring to know that you can understand and be understood.
At our specialist dental practice in central London, we understand that being in a comforting environment counts for a lot when you are feeling at all vulnerable and have accordingly designed our practice to be warm, friendly and welcoming.
3. What about follow-up care?
This is perhaps one of the most significant concerns about dental tourism. There are many different systems that an be used for dental implants, and your Hungarian (for example) dentist may use materials that are not widely available in the UK; should you require follow up care at home, perhaps several years after your dental implant procedure, you and your UK dentist may struggle.
It is therefore important to request and hold on to full documentation about the way the procedure was carried out. When patients attending our London specialist dental practice ask if it’s worth them looking into going abroad for their dental implants, we advise them to do some thorough research in order to evaluate whether the benefits do indeed outweigh the risks.
