Dental Work Abroad

pwni

Hi all,

I'm intending to travel round the world for a year starting next week. I wanted to get some major cosmetic dental work done before I leave but don't have time. Anyway it just occurred to me that perhaps I could get the work done abroad cheaper? The treatment I am planning was quoted at over £4000 at home.

A rough and incomplete itinerary will be China > SE Asia > Aus/NZ > but plans will probably change and I'm happy to go just about anywhere that I won't get shot/kidnapped/raped. :eek:

Anyone have any ideas or info? Obviously I would like the work done to the highest standard but surely there are places in the world where it would be but wouldn't cost as much as in the UK!

Thanks (artists impression of my nice new teeth!)
Phil

northie

The last time I had gone to India doing the triangle circuit of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, I was advised by a friend to get cosmetic dentistry done in india - you wont believe how cheap it was ......... ! I did Scaling, Crown (front teeth), and a bridging thing for my missing premolar... all came to about Eight Thousand Rupees.:D

considering One pound is close to 85Rupees, that works out to less than Hundred quids.

Moreover, I found the professionalism of the indian dentist exemplary. Undoubtedly, the studious indian guys do make wonderful doctors and dentists....

I would say go for it... and the savings from this alone would pay for your trip.

billlew

I did the same last christmas in Goa and for 9 extractions, filling & 2 valplast dentures, the price was just under £230. Great dentist Dr Abhijit Sadekar really put me at ease. He has emailed several times asking how the denture has settled in and said any problems he will refit a new one free of charge. Check out his website if my picture on there doesn't frighten you https://www.mydentistgoa.com

alric

was just wondering the same-
anywhere further east recommended?

Steve_xx

I've that Poland is becoming a popular destination for more cost-effective dental treatment for UK citizens. They offer unrivalled service, arranging hotels, meeting you off the plane etc.

The current situation regarding the availability of NHS dentists in the UK is truly appalling and to this effect I have written to my local MP.

My friend has this very morning had to go to an endodontist for a route canal filling in a molar that will cost him £500 as a private patient. He can't apparently have this work done on the NHS as the NHS says you can manage withouth this tooth. Then he will return to his NHS dentist for to have fitted a gold crown. He has had one more amalgam filling during this course of treatment and will have to pay the NHS dentist £189. Had he gone to the endodontist for all of it then it would have cost well over £1000.

The sooner that these Polish dentists start to infiltrate the UK, the better it will be for all of us. Because the current UK dentists are ripping us all off.

Toothsmith

Steve_xx wrote:

The sooner that these Polish dentists start to infiltrate the UK, the better it will be for all of us. Because the current UK dentists are ripping us all off.

Absolutre rubbish.

UK dentists are dearer because UK dentists have to put up with UK regulations and pay staff at UK rates.

The vast majority of the UK population couldn't tell decent dentistry from a muddy brick.

All a dental practice abroad has to do is stick a plasma screen in the waiting room, and the average Joe Punter thinks it's 'quality dentistry'

The people who get sucked into going abroad for treatment are generally those that haven't bothered to look after their teeth in this country and then end up with a huge bill to put it right.

The problem is, that without care, attention and the patient changing their diet habits, smoking and general behaviour towards dental treatment, even if they did get excellent dentistry abroad, it will be a waste of money, as it will still all fall to bits within a few years. Therefore it will still be a waste of money.

The best thing to do is to visit a local dentist so that you can establish a relationship and receive good care.

Having everything fixed in one bash is rarely the way to go about it. First of all, the conditions in the mouth should be stabalized. Only when that has happened is it worth spending any real money on getting stuff put back together again.

Also, bear in mind that if treatment is done abroad, you may struggle to get a UK dentist willing to see you if anything blows up.

Steve_xx

I disagree with some of your statements.

UK dentists have to pay no more for their staff than statute dictates. That means that they have at minimum to pay around £5.50 per hour, and many probably will pay the minimum. That will hardly put a dent in the average dentists earning, based on the current charging regime, and the outrages charges that they levy to the average earner in the UK. So, pardon me if I don't feel especially benevolent towards dentists.

Also, I think that you underestimate the British publics' ability to differentiate between sound dentistry and a muddy brick.

I agree with your comment in that it is best to establish a relationship with a local dentist. However, this is too often easier said than done. A huge number of UK dentists will no longer take patients on an NHS basis and therefore choice is somewhat limited to those people who are on a tight budget. Therefore, it seems to me that many are now being deprived of adequate dental health.

I agree with your comments that many of the problems encountered may be due to habit, diet etc. However, this alone should not mean that dentistry in the UK should be so costly that it becomes a prohibited option for the average incomed citizen. And I for one, feel that this is how dentistry in the UK is going to be in the future if the current trend among dentist is continued. Therefore I stand by my earlier statement in that I believe it will be healthy for the current UK dentist population to be subjected to the healthy dose of competition that has become apparent in most other industries. Further, I believe it would be helpful for the UK government to allow its citizens to obtain their dental needs from other EEC member states with the NHS contributing the same amounts towards that treatment as it does for dentistry in the UK.

Toothsmith

Steve_xx wrote:

UK dentists have to pay no more for their staff than statute dictates. That means that they have at minimum to pay around £5.50 per hour, and many probably will pay the minimum.

Well that just shows your lack of understandiing.

Dental nursing is a skilled occupation with a 2 year qualification.

Since July, all dental nurses either have to be registered with the General Dental Council, or be on a recognised training course working towards a registerable qualification.

To get a dental nurse that is allowed to work in a dental practice, you have to payy considerably more than you can pay a cleaner or supermarket shelf stacker.

True, that in order to remain in business whilst providing NHS 'care' some dentists were forced to employ people as cheaply as they could, but that has to stop now, and that is one of the many reasons that dentists are having to abandon the NHS at a faster rate than ever before.

Dentistry in the UK is very reasonable compared to other developed nations with similar standards.

Dentistry is relatively cheaper if you stay on top of problems and subscribe to a preventative approach, and take your dentist's advice.

It does get expensive if you let it all go, then try to get it fixed in one go.

This is a moneysaving website though, and my moneysaving advice is to have simple afordable things done in this country that will work and be best for you, rather than go abroad and spend money on a 'Hollywood' smile that you haven't got a cat in hells chance of being able to look after properly.

For those that value their teeth, going abroad will never be an option anyway, as they all will have a good relationship with a UK dentist and feel that the care they get is well worth the fee.

The people who the abroad option appeals to are the ones who want the muddy brick!

Steve_xx

A Dental Nurse on avarage earns around £9.50 per hour. Hardly an amount to cause a dentist to go into administration, is it? A Dentist doing a route canal filling and charging around £500, which is usual, is earning that in just two minutes. Once again, I reiterate my earlier statement in that there really is no need to feel especially benevolent towards dentists and that healthy competition is what is needed in the industry in order to both reduce costs and to force dentists to become more customer focused. You would reasonably argue that dentists face other overheads and this is fair to note. On the other hand, who ever heard of a poor dentist?

You may well feel that dentistry in the UK is very reasonable compared to other developed nations. That doesn't mean that in the UK it is affordable to the majority and I believe that it should be. In all things there needs to be the test of reasonableness applied, and it is my belief that the cost of dentistry in the UK is unreasonable and it is disproportionate to the average persons earnings. The effect of which will be that people will perceive dentists as bad value for money and they will forego regular appointments for fear that they will be told that they face hefty bills.

Toothsmith

Steve_xx wrote:

A Dental Nurse on avarage earns around £9.50 per hour. Hardly an amount to cause a dentist to go into administration, is it? A Dentist doing a route canal filling and charging around £500, which is usual, is earning that in just two minutes.

So - you've just doubled your original estimate of how much a dental nurse costs!!!! You are much nearer the truth now, and as you say, that is an average.

In a quality private practice where service, customer care and high standards are required, nurses are on much more.

Now ROOT fillings.

A specialist endodontist (root filler) may well charge £500+

With him it is at least 90 minutes work, and more usually 2h.

My fee is £325 and it is also about 90mins to 2h, but I do not have the specialist equipment or extra training. With the time and equipment I do have though, it's a pretty good job.

This will in 85-90% of cases save the tooth, which will save the patient a £2000 implant fee, or £7-800 fee for a bridge. (Or the £0 NHS option of a gap or £189 NHS option of a denture!)

I feel that you have never experienced quality dental care. I would guess you are someone who only tries to find a dentist when you have a toothache. This will put you at the mercy of whichever dentist in your locality has a space in his/her appointment book. Unlikely to be the best dentist in the area is it? Furthermore, I feel you also put price pretty high up the list of priorities as well. This is likely to filter out any decent practices who may have been able to fit you in.

I would learn a bit more about the economics of providing decent dental care before you judge what is and is not good value.

jasonrat

i go every year to thailand this is where i get check ups, teeth pulling and cleaning etc i work out its about 10th price over there and very good dentists. have also had work done in goa india too. all the dentists ive been to had state of the art surgeries so they arent exactly back street dentits. in fact the goan dentist got his dipoma or whatever u called it in england