Dental tourism – Why it’s on the rise and how to do it properly

Increasingly, more people are choosing to save on their dental treatment by travelling to emerging countries where the cost of treatment is far less. This is partially fuelled by squeezed household budgets, a shortage of dentists in countries like the U.K. and the dramatic savings that can be made by going abroad.

For example, according to RevalHealth.com nearly 60,000 people search for information regarding foreign dental treatment in the U.K. a month. With savings reported by some companies to be often well over 100% it is no wonder that the search volumes are so high and appear to be increasing rapidly.

So which countries are people choosing to visit on their “dental holidays”?  According to statistics the most popular countries to have treatment done in are Hungary and Poland. After these Turkey, Spain, Thailand and Bulgaria closely follow. Many dental tourists see the opportunity of having treatment abroad not only as a huge cost saver but as a holiday as well. Smile Savers Hungary – a dentist abroad based in Hungary, markets their service to play on this fact, offering packages that include flights, airport pickups and treatments.

If you are considering hopping on a plane for a dental holiday what should you look for when choosing a dentist abroad? First and foremost should be the quality of the dentists that will be carrying out the work. Checking that they hold approved medical qualifications should be the first item on the checklist. Every dentist should feel comfortable showing you their qualifications and if not then alarm bells should be ringing.

Secondly, the clinic should be fully equipped and up to modern standards. Again, this is something that should be researched thoroughly before you set off abroad. Other things to look for are awards; does the company have any accolades or awards for quality or service? These can be good indicators of the level of quality and safety. Most clinics should also be able to provide a portfolio of work, client testimonials and references as well should they be asked. Finally, you can check if the clinic is on any registered lists held by their respective governments. Top company are likely to have registered UK company numbers if they are trading in the UK at all.

Hopefully with this information in hand you will be much better placed to search for a dentist abroad whichever country you decide to visit for your treatment.

Guest blog post provided by Ben from smilesavershungary.co.uk