Dental Treatment Abroad

Toothsmith

They do!! :rolleyes:

alison999

Toothsmith wrote: »

They do!! :rolleyes:

lol go figure. just remember cheap doesnt equal the best. put it this way my 4 year old can cut my hair for free (yay) OR i could pay £50 and get it done RIGHT. he he

donteatthat

Try months by the time you have a "dentally fit" patient then have done all the initial planning, consenting, preliminary surgery and then the actual implant placements, reviews of surgery, provisional restorations and final restorations which would usually include several visits for trials

kazwookie

Also insurance costs a fortune for all this

Toothsmith

For anyone interested, the General Dental Council has issued a leaflet for people considering dentistry abroad.

http://www.gdc-uk.org/NR/rdonlyres/BA5A3BC8-D751-4FB1-8D79-5A0ABBD9F491/82885/GoingabroadforyourdentalcareFINAL.pdf

It deals with what to look out for, and good questions to ask of the people you're considering going with.

cymro

Shocked at prices of dental care so contemplating health tourism. Does anyone have any experience of using overseas dentists. Was the treatment good? Was it cheaper/worth the effort of going overseas? Any specific recommendations for a dentist?

alison999

Theres a massive thread on this, http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=25445&highlight=dental+tourism

cymro

Thanks - My initial searches failed to uncover this.

Tom

arunadasi

cymro wrote: »

Shocked at prices of dental care so contemplating health tourism. Does anyone have any experience of using overseas dentists. Was the treatment good? Was it cheaper/worth the effort of going overseas? Any specific recommendations for a dentist?

I've just returned from a few days in Germany where I had dental treatment, so for what it's worth I thought I'd give some info on dental care there, and maybe get some good feedback and advice here!

Some background info: I lived in Germany for over 30 years and am included in my husband's civil servant health plan, which means I get 70% of all my dental and medical bills paid by the german state. I can have private health care abroad coverted as well, as long as it does not exceed the German tarifs. The remaining 30% I can pay myself, or arrange for private cover. Private cover in Germany would have been very expensive so I decided not to get it.

I've been living in England since 2001 and have had regular NHS dental check-ups since then. I found the care OK but it annoyed me that almost every time I was seen by a different NHS dentist at the same clinic. So i took out private dental insurance in the UK, just in case, but never used it all these years.

Last year in March I went to my former German dentist who informed me that one of the teeth beneath a bridge, a tooth that holds the bridge, has died and is rotting away. I would need to have the bridge removed and something done - something expensive; she recommended implants. Now, the bridge covers three front teeth which are missing, and four others which were filed down! So it's a huge job, and the 30% I'd have to pay myself - well, I just wouldn't be able to afford it.

Back in the UK, I went ot my NHS dentist and did not tell her about the German diagnosis. It was just a check-up and a filling. AN XRay was taken but the dentist did not notice the dead tooth. SO I lost confidence completely there.

AFter a piece broke off of the bridge, I went to my private UK dentist, for the first time. I was very impressed when he confirmed the German diagnosis, even without an Xray! He too said it would be very expensive, invoving implants and what not. According to my policy, my UK insurance only pays £500 for implants. I am not sure if this is per tooth, or for complete treatment.

Last week in Germany I went to a new dentist who specialises in implants- he says the work should be done ASAP. He had all kinds of high tech apparatus and was able to show me close up photos of the teeth in question and the damage that is going on beneath and behind them.

He says he can't say exactly what work needs doing until the bridge is down and he can examine the bone beneath it. OIne thing, though, it is going to be a very long process involving at leastr three trips to Germany.

He told me that, as far as he knew, dental treatment in the UK was the most expensive in the EU with British dentists earning the most, and German dentists the least. He thought that after 70% of the costs were paid the rest would not be too prohibitive.

I need to ring my insurer to find out a) if the £500 is per tooth and b) if they pay for costs abroad. If there's a yes to both of those, I think I'm home fine.

The nice thing about treatment is Germany is that they don't expect payment up front. They send a bill; you collect the money; and THEN you pay the dentist.

The big hassle will be travelling to Germany a few times to get the treatment done.

Since there were questions as to dental care abroad I just wanted to put this info out there. German dentists are really fantastic, very thorough and you get plaque removal etc done while you wait, by their invariably friendly assistants! Most of them speak good English, and if there is a problem afterwards you'd certainly have no problem getting it put right again. And Germany is also a very worthwhile place to have a little holiday.

arunadasi

OK, I just called my insurer. They do not pay for treatment abroad, and they pay £500 per implant, with a maximum of £1000 per policy period.

I just checked a few dental implant UK websites, and there are offers of imaplnts for around £600 - £800. Are these reliable?

It seems to me that I am better off having the treatment done in the UK, and if I am lucky I might be able to get it all covered.