The Great 'Medical Tourism' Hunt

brook2jack

Implants are never going to be available on the NHS except for cancer patients as they are far too expensive to provide . In my area the total budget annually for restorative dentistry is £35,000 which will provide treatment for approx. 2 cancer patients.

As some of us have tried to explain everything about providing implants in this country is expensive from the increase you have to pay for annual indemnity to the equipment and materials used. There is not the massive profit margins in implants you imagine as various of us have explained.

The cost of your treatment in Hungary would be £12,000 in a country where the average White collar wage is eur 370 a month. How affordable is that then for the average Hungarian? Even less affordable than a uk resident having treatment in the uk.

In the end the government decides what their health priorities are. They decide how much they are willing to spend on dentistry. As a country we cannot afford to provide eveything for everyone. The average cost of NHS treatment in my area is £36 per person treated per year and this is in an area of high needs.

rosepoet

Denzelpuppy wrote: »

Toothsmith wrote: »

Uk dentists work in UK properties and employ UK staff under UK employment law. We live in the UK pay UK mortgages.

We pay UK prices for equipment and materials and maintain the UK properties using UK builders and services. We have UK regulations to comply to including Waste disposal regulations, minimum wage, health and safety, cross infection control, registration of all dental staff, training to appropriate standards for all staff.

We generally use UK based dental labs for denture, crown and bridgework (Although some trying to remain in the NHS are now sending their labwork overseas for cheaper prices), who employ their technicians under UK employment law, and have to conform to all the UK regulations that govern them.

Ahh its always some onelses fault,the dentists blame the goverment because they didn't like the contracts they had to sign ie we cant survive on 60/80/90 k per year, we have to pay for this we have to pay for that, the whole point of threads like these is that it shows how far we are being ripped off, the whole thing is a vicious circle, and the circle must be broken if we as a nation are to survive, Uk dentists might have to pay higher prices for their properties, but they dont have to buy they can always rent, as do most people companies in europe we are obssessed with owning our own properties, the Eastern European companies still have to buy the same equipment in fact it's usually better. So I still stick to my original statement UK dentists are Licenced Bandits and are ripping us OFF!!!!!!!

My mother had dental implants in the UK. The dentist didn't care about her well-being. He ignored her medical conditions, although she had been diagnosed with Lupus, sjogrens syndrome (a condition that results in a completely dry mouth) and a pronounced tremor which meant that she couldn't maintain a complicated dental hygeine regime. He was far more interested in money than her welfare.

He removed all her teeth, and then kept charging her more and more as the implants all failed. She was terribly distressed by this, and the loss of the implants meant that she was unable to eat a normal diet. Her life was shortened by this treatment, which was painful, inappropriate and misguided. UK dentists like this one reflect a poor standard of dentistry on so many levels.
I also attended a uk dentist who left me with an exposed root, because they were 'in a hurry'. UK dentistry is not as good as European equivalents.

Toothsmith

rosepoet wrote: »

My mother had dental implants in the UK. The dentist didn't care about her well-being. He ignored her medical conditions, although she had been diagnosed with Lupus, sjogrens syndrome (a condition that results in a completely dry mouth) and a pronounced tremor which meant that she couldn't maintain a complicated dental hygeine regime. He was far more interested in money than her welfare.

He removed all her teeth, and then kept charging her more and more as the implants all failed. She was terribly distressed by this, and the loss of the implants meant that she was unable to eat a normal diet. Her life was shortened by this treatment, which was painful, inappropriate and misguided. UK dentists like this one reflect a poor standard of dentistry on so many levels.
I also attended a uk dentist who left me with an exposed root, because they were 'in a hurry'. UK dentistry is not as good as European equivalents.

You cannot be as general!

None of the dentists replying on here are saying UK dentists are best - there are good and bad in all countries, as there are good and bad policemen, good and bad builders, good and bad lawyers, good and bad sheet metal workers......

The thing about having complex medical work done in a country where you live is that you're more likely to be able to get some redress if things go wrong as there will be familiar complaints prceedures and you'll be dealing with people who speak a language you understand.

I am really sorry to hear about your mum.

Sjogrens syndrome when severe is extremely bad news for the teeth - saliva is their greatest protector. Lupus is also very nasty. It can cause very nasty mouth lesions.

The two of them combined gives a patient who loses their teeth very rapidly (Because the arthritis which is part of Sjorgens can also make toothbrushing very difficult) and makes denture wearing all but impossible.

I do not know the circumstances of why the implants were provided, or what conversations took place between your mum and the dentist - but if both conditions were severe, the only treatment option I can think of would be to extract the teeth and leave the patient without anything.

That would hardly be ideal either, although admittedly it wouldn't be putting an ?elderly? poorly person through a lot of complex surgery.

brook2jack

Severe Sjorgrens and another autoimmune disease on top are incredibly distressing for a patient . Very often they have had few problems dentally before and then within a short period of time lose all of their teeth. They cannot wear dentures as saliva helps to hold them in place and helps to stop trauma which results in ulcers. So they end up with no teeth, no dentures and great difficultly in eating because of the lack of saliva and in severe cases of lupus even eating can cause ulcers.

The short answer is that your mums conditions are amongst the most challenging to treat because in a severe case we know there is very little we can do to alleviate their distress. I'm not an implantologist so I have little idea if implants would generally be seen as a good last ditch attempt to provide someone with teeth when you know otherwise nothing else will work.

However as ts said if this was not acceptable work then there is a private patients complaint system at the gdc which is the first port of call for redress and all uk dentists carry malpractice insurance so you are protected.

welshdent

Denzelpuppy wrote: »

Ahh its always some onelses fault,the dentists blame the goverment because they didn't like the contracts they had to sign ie we cant survive on 60/80/90 k per year, we have to pay for this we have to pay for that, the whole point of threads like these is that it shows how far we are being ripped off, the whole thing is a vicious circle, and the circle must be broken if we as a nation are to survive, Uk dentists might have to pay higher prices for their properties, but they dont have to buy they can always rent, as do most people companies in europe we are obssessed with owning our own properties, the Eastern European companies still have to buy the same equipment in fact it's usually better. So I still stick to my original statement UK dentists are Licenced Bandits and are ripping us OFF!!!!!!!.

RENT?!?! have you SEEN rental prices?!?!? Not that you are interested because you have made your mind up .... but many practices DO rent .... and they still have high cost margins. Go figure! Rental or buying .... makes no difference in the way you seem to think it does. Tell you what why dont we all just run a charity service just for you . Try and get a job in a practice and see just what is involved. It MAY just open your eyes a little

ladalife

Hi! Medical tourism is indeed skyrocketing in popularity. The recently launched International Medical Tourism Directory 2011 offers plenty of useful information on medical and health clinics offering their services to clients around the globe (Europe, Asian, Latin America) in areas like dentistry, plastic surgery, reproductive medicine, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, cosmetology, cancer and infertility treatment and Spa & Wellness among others. However, unlike other sources, it also provides essential information on current most popular medical technologies, treatment methods and wide spectrum of tourist information on countries, currencies, accommodation, transport, regional cuisine and various helpful tips one may need in a foreign country.

Regards

Jennyy_2

Well I have gone abroad to India for medical treatment. Few reasons for the same is Long waiting period and high cost in USA. But I think you need to update all the information related to country and hospitals before departure. You can get the information through net or medical tourism agencies/consultant . They are of great help as they have feedback related hospitals,clinic and even doctors and can also arrange your trip from the scratch

rrickyuk

Gosh, looking through this thread has been much worse than having a wisdom tooth pulled. Hijacked by agenda changers, this thread was started specifically to give people information. However, it soon descended into philosophical, political, self-serving backbiting. It was mildly interesting to see how defensive dentistry became. This paled quite soon, as I had come to this thread looking for practical information. I hadn't got much by the end of page 4, so jumped straight to page 7 to post this. Some of you might think less about your own agendas and more about why this thread was created; more about reporting the spam than letting it lie there for years. Shame on those mentioned above. Praise to the few posters who actually gave practical advice. *Goes off to look elsewhere*

susiebt60

Hi,
Really need to get some serious dental work. Has anyone good or bad experiences/recommendations for dentists abroad? I'm looking at Budapest at the moment, as there are several positive reviews on some of the Hungarion sites, but of course, there must also be negative.
Any help/suggestions welcome..

strawberries1

*jobags* said:

Poppy10 wrote: »

Is there anything non-dentistry related in this thread?

I had IVF in Poland having blown over £30K in the UK over a 3 year period - In the UK I rarely saw the same Doctor twice and treatment protocols often changed in the middle of treatment cycles for no good reason.

I went to the clinic in Warsaw in May 2006 and within 8 weeks was pregnant with twins at a cost of £2,300. I visited the clinic 4 times and saw the same Dr on each visit.

The clinic was clean - cleaner than those in the UK which I had visited as a private and NHS patient, the drugs were the same as those in the UK but much cheaper and the Doctor spoke perfect English - in fact much better English than the majority of Doctors I saw in UK IVF Clinics

The HFEA were (and still are) full of scare stories about going abroad - as are many professionals and professional health organisations in this country - what are they scared of? That we'll find better standards, better success rates and cleaner facilities abroad.

I would recommend investigating any treatment options abroad to anyone

Jo

Congratulations. Do you mind sharing which clinic it was? I understand things might have changed with them. Just that I don't hear of Poland when ivf abroad options are discussed. I had one in Istanbul last September but it failed. Looking for another clinic now.