The Perils of Dental Tourism!

What are the potential risks of dental tourism? What do you need to know?

Dental tourism has become increasingly popular in recent years as people seek cost-effective solutions for expensive dental procedures. Although dental tourism can offer significant initial cost savings, it’s crucial to take into account all the inevitable potential risks and long-term implications. Careful planning and prioritising your health and safety are key to making an informed decision. While the prospect of combining a holiday with affordable dental care is enticing, it’s crucial to be aware of the potential risks associated with this trend. We want to highlight dental tourism’s key considerations and potential risks.

What is Dental tourism?

Dental tourism involves travelling abroad to access dental services, often at a lower cost than in one’s home country. Countries like Turkey (Turkey teeth), Romania, and Hungary are popular destinations due to their lower healthcare costs and quality services.

What are the potential Risks of Dental Tourism?

1. Quality of Care Concerns

Dental standards and regulations may vary from country to country, especially from the West to the Middle East or the Far East. Some countries may not have stringent hygiene practices or high-quality materials, increasing the risk of complications.

Communication issues can arise from language barrier. Even using a translator may not necessarily clarify the complex medical terms, treatment options, and their advantages and disadvantages in the short and long term. Miscommunication and misunderstandings about treatment plans or aftercare instructions may lead to serious medical or dental care compromises.

2. Health and Safety Concerns

Legal liability: resources When the dental treatment procedures are not performed as promised, the care providers may not be liable or accountable for the possible post-operative consequences and complications.

You may find legal resources limited, complex, expensive or non-existent in some countries.

Infection control and risks: lack of post-operative care and follow-up care due to travelling shortly after surgery can increase the risk of unattended complications like infections or prolonged healing times. Managing follow-up care can be challenging if your dentist is thousands of miles away.

Inconsistency in Treatment strategies or approaches between home and foreign dentists may lead to inconsistent and complicated care.

Unexpected expenses involved in travelling, accommodation, and potential follow-up visits can add up, diminishing the initial cost savings.

Insurance policies and Issues: Many insurance companies do not cover procedures undertaken abroad, leaving patients to bear the full cost of any complications or revisions.

How could you mitigate the potential risks?

You should consult a dental specialist who can give you an expert opinion. More knowledge about your treatment needs and options enables you to make sound and appropriate decisions about your future oral health.

Receive the patient-tailored post-procedure continuity of post-operative care you need.

You could use your dental insurance to ensure you receive the care you expect.

You may get a discounted treatment package, which works cheaper in the end.

How could you prioritise Safety over Saving?

Remember that the lowest price might not always mean the best care.

Consider the total cost, including travel and potential future treatments.

Compare the quality implant care you could receive by ensuring you are referred to a fully qualified, well-trained, and experienced dental implantologist.

Is it necessary to attend maintenance appointments after the implant placement?

Upon completion of the implant therapy, you should attend the same clinic for regular maintenance appointments to assess the tissues around your implant and the crown. The frequency of hygienist visits will depend on your standard of oral hygiene. Long-term maintenance of the implant and crown will be required, as for any other standard crown.

Minor maintenance may include removing the crown to check the implant abutment and replacement of retention screws when required. Major maintenance may involve the replacement of the crown due to wear and tear. These maintenance requirements will incur additional costs above the initial fees.

What are the complications of dental implants?

Osseointegration is a process by which a clinically asymptomatic rigid direct fixation between an implant and surrounding living bone is achieved and maintained under functional loading. One of the key factors in the long-term success of dental implants is maintaining healthy tissues around them. Bio-mechanical complications include the failures of the hardware components, e.g. fracture of the implants, coatings, connecting screws and prostheses. Biological complications may lead to primary early failures by interfering with the process of osseointegration or secondary late failures to maintain the achieved osseointegration. The main complications of dental implants are as follows:

1. Peri-implant Recession
2. Peri-implant Mucositis
3. Peri-implantitis
4. Failing implants

Read more about dental implant failure.

The Perils of Dental Tourism

The long-term success rate for each dental implant placed in your jawbone is determined by certain factors that directly affect the time and cost involved in providing implant-supported prostheses. The cost of the implants and implant-supported prostheses is determined by the factors below:

• The surgeon’s level of education and experience and specialisation in surgical aspects of implantology.
• The prosthodontist’s level of expertise and specialisation in restorative aspects of dental implantology.
• The implant technical fabrication procedures and chemo-physical surface treatment.
• The type of post/abutment connection and quality.
• The clinic’s quality control protocols.
• The technician’s expertise and prosthesis quality in design and manufacturing processing.
• The quality of the implant system, the materials and the fabrication procedures that your provider implements will determine the durability and success of your implant. Inferior restorative parts, ceramic materials and inexperienced dental technicians could lead to premature implant failure.

Dr Nico Kamosi and his team at London Specialist Dentists utilise implant systems from the world-leading Swiss and Swedish companies with the lowest rate of biological and biomechanical complications or failures. We have more than two decades of expertise in both surgical and restorative aspects of dental implantology.

Dental implants at London Specialist Dentist!

If you are considering implants abroad, we suggest you search and compare the possible high-quality care dental clinics in London. Our expert implantologist at London Specialist Dentist is a registered specialist periodontist with the General Dental Council who specialises in both the surgical and restorative aspects of Titanium and Zirconia Swiss dental implants. At London Specialist Dentists, we offer you 2 sessions of comprehensive oral investigation involving full-mouth Dental, Periodontal Restorative, Endodontic, Orthodontic and oral functional assessment. For consultation and report, where you’ll meet Dr Nico Kamosi to explore and discuss the latest available state-of-the-art treatment options in detail. You’ll also receive a comprehensive alternative treatment plan and quote for the dental implant of your choice. Your treatment options and the sequences of your treatment sessions will be explained again and again in detail until you are able to make your own informed decision. We use the most well-documented Swiss Titanium and Zirconia Dental Implants, Straumann and Ceramic NobelPearl or Z-System implant systems with more than 2 decades of scientific clinical evidence of consistent excellent outcomes and stability in different scenarios. Read more about dental implant.