The Great 'Medical Tourism' Hunt

lynzpower

rac wrote: »

Toothsmith?

Your not going to answer are you?

Its OK, I understand.

Just take a deep breath, relax, and whisper the words...

"I, toothsmith am wrong, and I apologise"

There, feel better now?

I will answer

the difficulty arises when the "rich" ie us, go somewhere "poor" ie "there" ( india/turkey/wherever) and we with our money and strong exchange rate etc buy services over and above general tourism

this means that - as a rule of thumb- the tourist and thier money will take precedent over the locals. If it costs us 30 quid to get a crown in bulgaria - that could be a months income for a local - yes its cheap to us, but its not for them. Whats to stop the bulgarian dentist putting it up to 35 quid a crown? We wont quibble over a fiver- cos its still a significant saving for us, but fewer locals can afford it. the more of us that go, it inevitably means that the more the local health staff court us "high rollers". and effectively, it leads to a two teir system in that country, no different really to what we have here, except those countries are poorer than we are and there is a moral question mark over the whole thing for me.

Personally, I do not believe morally there should be a capitalist system in the health service anywhere. where it means those who cant afford to have ther teeth seen to ( most of us here discussing it) either have to do without, or find cheaper alternatives. the problem being is that those cheaper alternatives ( ie going abroad) become more expensive to the locals in that country.

Moral minefield IMHO

rac_3

lynzpower wrote: »

I will answer

the difficulty arises when the "rich" ie us, go somewhere "poor" ie "there" ( india/turkey/wherever) and we with our money and strong exchange rate etc buy services over and above general tourism

this means that - as a rule of thumb- the tourist and thier money will take precedent over the locals. If it costs us 30 quid to get a crown in bulgaria - that could be a months income for a local - yes its cheap to us, but its not for them. Whats to stop the bulgarian dentist putting it up to 35 quid a crown? We wont quibble over a fiver- cos its still a significant saving for us, but fewer locals can afford it. the more of us that go, it inevitably means that the more the local health staff court us "high rollers". and effectively, it leads to a two teir system in that country, no different really to what we have here, except those countries are poorer than we are and there is a moral question mark over the whole thing for me.

Personally, I do not believe morally there should be a capitalist system in the health service anywhere. where it means those who cant afford to have ther teeth seen to ( most of us here discussing it) either have to do without, or find cheaper alternatives. the problem being is that those cheaper alternatives ( ie going abroad) become more expensive to the locals in that country.

Moral minefield IMHO

And your point is...............?

This is a money saving forum.

Repeat. money.saving.

Get it?

The object is to save money.

No one cares about 'locals' and there is no reason that they should.

All they need to care about is getting the best deal. Thats what the European Union and indeed the World market is about.

Take your moral objections to someone who cares.

Again, we, the customer did not create the situation.

We go where we get 'the best bang for the buck' as the Americans say.

And while it's legal, we are doing nothing wrong.

Sparky67

Toothsmith wrote: »

Before anything gets too clouded, can say that I have no issues with people having dental care in other countries that they visit regularly.

If someone has relatives who live abroad, or who are not natives of the UK then as far as I'm concerned it is fine to have dental care wherever you feel confident in your care.

It seems that you are beginning to own this thread :eek:


In the end some people will have good and some bad but most will have good care at their own risk (which they will have calculated and judged for themselves I expect)!

Question - why should dentistry be protected from market forces (capitalism)? How difficult is it to do these operations, are "foreigners" not intelligent enough to pick up the education needed, when they travel quite often to gain this knowledge from British universities or equivalent?

If dentists are "worried" about the patient care and not the bucks they lose then I am indeed grateful and will anticipate soon their professional organisation sending out information on how patients can get cheap foreign treatment safely because after all you could not creditably be saying it’s all bad out there??????

Toothsmith

rac wrote: »

And your point is...............?

This is a money saving forum.

Repeat. money.saving.

Get it?

The object is to save money.

No one cares about 'locals' and there is no reason that they should.

All they need to care about is getting the best deal. Thats what the European Union and indeed the World market is about.

Take your moral objections to someone who cares.

Again, we, the customer did not create the situation.

We go where we get 'the best bang for the buck' as the Americans say.

And while it's legal, we are doing nothing wrong.

Martin - what have you created? :money:

theredfox_2

Sparky67 wrote: »

Question - why should dentistry be protected from market forces (capitalism)? How difficult is it to do these operations, are "foreigners" not intelligent enough to pick up the education needed, when they travel quite often to gain this knowledge from British universities or equivalent?
If dentists are "worried" about the patient care and not the bucks they lose then I am indeed grateful and will anticipate soon their professional organisation sending out information on how patients can get cheap foreign treatment safely because after all you could not creditably be saying it’s all bad out there??????

And, you can't have it both ways. If there's an inadequate dental service in this country, by which I mean it's increasingly expensive and fewer can afford it - because capitalism is driving it in Britain - then it's logical this gets extended to the rest of Europe and beyond, where we find massively better prices.

UK dentistry private, expensive, capitalist? - OK, well now with cheap air travel and the internet we can play the game with consumer power , and we can win!

Answer? - make it available more economically in Britain, which means more NHS provision (and I don't blame the government for that, think that's ridiculous, but in any case that's just hypothetical arguing), so we wouldn't have to look abroad. We didn't start it! - but should use the choice we have, if this is the situation we face.

It's a new world, with new internet/travel possiblities. Its the same with cars - you can save thousands by buying abroad and people have done this and challenged the price-fixing rubbish in the British market. If anyone is sick of Rip Off UK - sick, sick, sick, of cars, electrical goods, housing and all major products substantially more expensive than in Europe and the US - then, for example, an idea like a dental holiday is just great. Of course, one gets a little nervous; but with intelligent research, and advice from people who have already done it, it seems a most excellent idea.

blueboyto

Having been quoted £5000 by my UK dentist for 2 implants and a replacement bridge, or have a plate. I decided to investigate the overseas options. I was surprised to find that Hungary is considered by many to be the dental capital of Europe.
In the end I settled on BioDental of Budapest. They had an English agent Andrew Bones, available on free phone 0800 043 8834, who was extremely knowledgeable and most helpful. I was given a written quote based entirely on the limited information that I was able to give.
They arranged 7 nights accommodation in a lovely apartment, approx 100m from the Houses of Parliament, and overlooking the Danube - at a cost of £40 per night. What a location! They even arranged (at their expence) a taxi to collect us from, and return us to the airport.
Within 2 weeks I was there, having the treatment in a state of the art surgery. After a full CAT scan x-ray they found that implants were not practical due to the length of time since some of the teeth were removed. They found too that I had a number of other problems (such as abscess's and a broken root!) missed by my own dentist, and that the bite of my upper and lower rear teeth had never been correct. I received a detailed written quote which we then discussed. I have been a Buyer since 1979 and found the contract to be about the most straightforward I have seen.
In the end I spent many hours in the surgery and had to extend my stay to 9 nights.
At all times my wife and I were treated with the utmost kindness and courtesy, the treatment was superb and more or less pain free, language was never an issue as they spoke excellent English, and nothing was too much trouble. We are extremely pleased with the outcome. Not only that but I was charged approx £1100 less than I was quoted as I didn't have the implants. and in addition to all of that they give your partner a free clean and polish, and in my wifes case whitened them for her too!
I dont have any hesitation in recommending BioDental - and NO, before you ask, I am not on commission. I'm sure there are practices who are as good, and there may be some who are even better, but I doubt it.
If anyone is worrying about making such an important decision (as I did) my advice would be don't. Just get on with it - if my experience is anything to go by, you are unlikely to regret it.
Anyone wanting more information, please ask.

leesharp

Hi,

i went to a dentist in Krakow Poland last year,they were very good ,spoke English very well,and the price i paid was around £800 for a 6 unit bridge. My own dentist here in the UK Wanted £3,500. Krakow itself is a very nice place to spend a few days or even a week (which i did) The company was on one of the BBC travel shows,and the presenter had some work done himself.

Ive spent many hours e-mailing dentists all over Poland + Hungary and shortlisted 4 of them . Two from Poland and two from Hungary,when i saw the dentist on the BBC i decided to go for that one.But to be honest they all looked very good. i based my choice not just on price but also the feedback from them all.
Here is the link to the dentist in Poland.
http://www.dentist-planet.com/dentist_poland/indexmedica/index.htm

They also provided me with free accomadation,free check up,and free airport transfers. Have a look at the web site because they will send you a dvd all about the pratice

any of you would like the others please let me know.Like i said before i have spent many hours e-mailing dentists in both countries so i now have a very long list of them :-).

After saying all that my friend goes out to India to have his work done,i was tempted but felt its a little too far to go.
Hope this all helps

Lee Sharp...........

Denzelpuppy

lynzpower wrote: »

I will answer

the difficulty arises when the "rich" ie us, go somewhere "poor" ie "there" ( india/turkey/wherever) and we with our money and strong exchange rate etc buy services over and above general tourism

this means that - as a rule of thumb- the tourist and thier money will take precedent over the locals. If it costs us 30 quid to get a crown in bulgaria - that could be a months income for a local - yes its cheap to us, but its not for them. Whats to stop the bulgarian dentist putting it up to 35 quid a crown? We wont quibble over a fiver- cos its still a significant saving for us, but fewer locals can afford it. the more of us that go, it inevitably means that the more the local health staff court us "high rollers". and effectively, it leads to a two teir system in that country, no different really to what we have here, except those countries are poorer than we are and there is a moral question mark over the whole thing for me.

Personally, I do not believe morally there should be a capitalist system in the health service anywhere. where it means those who cant afford to have ther teeth seen to ( most of us here discussing it) either have to do without, or find cheaper alternatives. the problem being is that those cheaper alternatives ( ie going abroad) become more expensive to the locals in that country.

Moral minefield IMHO

I have a friend that lives and works in Istanbul and he's telling me that the Dentists their have one price for locals and one price for Tourists which is still 66% cheaper than what we pay in the UK

MissMoneypenny

Toothsmith wrote: »

Peoples efforts would be much better directed finding a reasonably priced dentist in this country who can provide continuity of care - and would be just down the road if anything went nasty - and would be under the juristiction of British law if anything serious ever happened!

Didn’t happen in my case when the private work a dentist here did, went wrong. He was too busy to see me and just asked me to go down to collect continual prescriptions for the pain. In the end, my tooth died - the pain stopped then!

The British Law bit isn’t quite true either. My solicitor said that she had dealt with two dentists’ insurers (I think she said that there were only two, but can’t remember that bit for sure). And that one insurer would try to sort problems, while the other always fought the cases and used its massive financial power, so that the patient had little chance of funding a case (and I was using a £50,000.00 insurance policy too)! Guess which one my private dentist had gone with – can’t think why. It was just too expensive to continue, so the dentist got away with it.

Sorry to go off topic. Thanks to Martin for starting this thread. It's a good one.

lynzpower

Denzelpuppy wrote: »

I have a friend that lives and works in Istanbul and he's telling me that the Dentists their have one price for locals and one price for Tourists which is still 66% cheaper than what we pay in the UK

If that is the case, then I have no problem at all with it.

As I said In an earlier post, I do struggle with the morals of it, but however, I want to save money as much as the next person. Currently Im doing this by not going to the dentist!