Dental work abroad v UK

andrei

welshdent wrote: »

Good ol tax payer eh?!?! Winds me up the whole thing. !!!!!! off against advice for cheap work abroad. Discover it was done badly then wahay "the NHS" will fix it.

Sorry rant over!

I don't agree about the tax payer picking up the tab... You got the discounted rate, got the job done, went wrong, go back to the clinic, and ask them to fix it... get insurance if you're not sure about the dentist you'll visit...

hethmar

andrei wrote: »

If I hire a Spanish interpreter for a translation in the UK costing me say around 15 GBP/hour vs. I hire one off the internet from a country in Eastern Europe, pay them 7 GBP an hour, while the translation will come out the same, I've saved some money...

But ..... how would you know the translation is correct?

hethmar

andrei wrote: »

If I hire a Spanish interpreter for a translation in the UK costing me say around 15 GBP/hour vs. I hire one off the internet from a country in Eastern Europe, pay them 7 GBP an hour, while the translation will come out the same, I've saved some money...

But ..... how would you know the translation is correct? If the translator is abroad I guess you would have no recourse to law if his translation caused you losses?

Toothsmith

andrei wrote: »

To answer your question: common sense.. If I hire a Spanish interpreter for a translation in the UK costing me say around 15 GBP/hour vs. I hire one off the internet from a country in Eastern Europe, pay them 7 GBP an hour, while the translation will come out the same, I've saved some money... If overall prices in Dentistry Hungary vs UK are at 35%, and I charge you 50%, I'll probably do more of a complex work than the guy doing the same treatment as in the UK but for 35% of the price... Because me and that guy have similar prices...

But if you get a bad translation, all you end up with is a hilarious instruction booklet that your customers will laugh at.

Getting the cheapest priced widget from a different country is just globalisation.

People are not washing machines though, and with the best treatment in the world, nothing will go right 100% of the time.

If you live in Hungary then going to a Hungarian dentist is fine. They do have some very good dentists (And some very bad ones - just like the UK has very good and very bad ones).

But if you live in one country, and travel thousands of miles to get some complex medical treatment, and then something goes wrong, or even slightly not right, then you really do have some serious trouble on your hands.

welshdent

Toothsmith wrote: »

But if you get a bad translation, all you end up with is a hilarious instruction booklet that your customers will laugh at.

Getting the cheapest priced widget from a different country is just globalisation.

People are not washing machines though, and with the best treatment in the world, nothing will go right 100% of the time.

If you live in Hungary then going to a Hungarian dentist is fine. They do have some very good dentists (And some very bad ones - just like the UK has very good and very bad ones).

But if you live in one country, and travel thousands of miles to get some complex medical treatment, and then something goes wrong, or even slightly not right, then you really do have some serious trouble on your hands.

I have patients that see travelling 5 miles to me as an incovenience! Ignoring the fact I travel 30 every day to and 30 from!

coldstreamalways

andrei wrote: »

By the way, that was probably just bad diligence on part of the patient, if not, then it was bad luck.. Seen any good work done abroad recently? You probably haven't since there's no need for them to come over to get anything fixed..

I did my reading into good and bad dentistry when I completed my degree in dental surgery thanks andrei.

Would you be able to pick let's say a good "composite" to use on a posterior tooth? Or know the difference between resin modified glass ionomer and a dual cure glass ionomer cement? Zinc phosphate and panavia? Panavia OP and Panavia 21? A cast post and a fibre post? Probably not and to most people, this sounds like complete gobledegook.

How much due diligence do you think a patient should exercise in accessing health care? My point was, this patient couldn't return to their "amazing" overseas dentist, even if he had tried to he would probably have met with a shoulder shrug and not much else. If this had been a UK dentist, he would have had a number of avenues to use to get the treatment rectified.

By the way, do you have a vested interest in dental treatment or medical treatment overseas?

andrei

coldstreamalways wrote: »

I did my reading into good and bad dentistry when I completed my degree in dental surgery thanks andrei. Welcomed - I meant read up the forum

How much due diligence do you think a patient should exercise in accessing health care? My point was, this patient couldn't return to their "amazing" overseas dentist, even if he had tried to he would probably have met with a shoulder shrug and not much else. If this had been a UK dentist, he would have had a number of avenues to use to get the treatment rectified. - In doing your diligence when accessing health care (abroad) I understand asking around, looking at various options, asking for patient referrals from different providers. I don't mean to be rude, but did the patient try? I accept there are bad dentists and good dentists everywhere, even in the UK - however a good dentist might not shrug their shoulder, but rather take another look. They might just even offer to pay for transportation and accommodation on the fix... But I did read about patients not wanting to return to the original clinic. Medicine isn't 100% accurate... Its never been.

By the way, do you have a vested interest in dental treatment or medical treatment overseas? I would call it a personal interest. Through research I've come to the conclusion that if I need more than minor dentistry I'd rather have it done abroad, this combined with a lot of spare time is why I'm here... Also, I'm looking to convince myself about my decision - crawling forums. Perhaps being originally from abroad (moved over years ago) is something for which you might say I have a "vested" interest.

Comments in the quote.

andrei

hethmar wrote: »

But ..... how would you know the translation is correct? If the translator is abroad I guess you would have no recourse to law if his translation caused you losses?

I guess the common sense answer to your question would be: How would you know the translation done at home is correct? All other things being equal the variable being the place of residence of the interpreter, you still don't know Spanish, do you?

andrei

Toothsmith wrote: »

But if you get a bad translation, all you end up with is a hilarious instruction booklet that your customers will laugh at.

Getting the cheapest priced widget from a different country is just globalisation.

People are not washing machines though, and with the best treatment in the world, nothing will go right 100% of the time.

If you live in Hungary then going to a Hungarian dentist is fine. They do have some very good dentists (And some very bad ones - just like the UK has very good and very bad ones).

But if you live in one country, and travel thousands of miles to get some complex medical treatment, and then something goes wrong, or even slightly not right, then you really do have some serious trouble on your hands.

But isn't that the world we live in? A global one?

"People are not washing machines though, and with the best treatment in the world, nothing will go right 100% of the time."
Couldn't agree more.

On your last line: I think insurance covers for things like that, doesn't it?

brook2jack

I think you will find there are not many, if any insurances that will cover dental or medical treatment abroad, a very important point to think about if something were to go wrong.

Also many countries do not stipulate the medics/dentists have to carry liability insurance, and if they do they are often(with the exception of the US) of a much smaller value than we have to carry in the UK.

You have to accept if something goes wrong in most of the cases I have seen the patient has incurred extra costs in travel etc if they have been "lucky" enough to be seen by the original practitioner or extra costs having treatment corrected here.

Even the best treatment carried out by the best practitioner can go wrong and it's much easier/better to sort out the closer you are to home.