September 9, 2009
El Salvador: What To Do About Costly Dental Work
by Fox News Health
by Lori Lundin
My husband Doug grew up in a very low income family in Washington State and didn’t get much dental care. His teeth were also becoming very worn down as a result from grinding.
He finally decided he had to do something, so he went for a consultation with a dentist in New York.
The diagnoses: financially painful.
Doug would need a full mouth reconstruction, which would take about two years to complete and cost approximately $60,000.
However, if he didn’t have his teeth fixed, they would continue to deteriorate and he would continue to have problems.
But we didn’t have $60,000 to make it happen. I’d heard about medical tourism and started doing some online research. From there I found a book called “Patients Beyond Borders.” It was an eye-opening experience. More and more people are traveling to places such as India, Thailand, Costa Rica and El Salvador to get health care.
There are companies that specialize in facilitating all sorts of medical treatments overseas. Not only are they getting great quality care and saving thousands of dollars, but they are making a vacation out of it.
And it’s not just small stuff. Folks are going for heart surgery, plastic surgery, laparoscopic surgery, dental work, laser eye surgery…you name it. The book showed price comparisons and recommended the top medical tourism companies. After calling a few, I chose a company called Planet Hospital.
The founder, Rudy Rupak began the journey toward medical tourism after his wife became sick in Thailand. He was amazed at the quality of care, the compassionate treatment and how little it cost. After the initial phone call, we sent Doug’s treatment plan and x-rays from the American dentist.
Rudy put us in touch with one dentist in Costa Rica and one in El Salvador. We immediately felt comfortable with Dr. Rafael Lorenzana, who was located in El Salvador.
We were given an estimate for $18,000. Even with airfare and hotel, we would be saving about $40,000. But knowing so little about the country, we also felt cautious. We called several people in the states who had gone to Dr. Lorenzana for similar procedures and they were thrilled. Not only did they rave about the care and the quality of work, but they loved the country.
We decided to go for it. Not only would Doug finally get his teeth fixed, but we would get a tropical vacation in the process.
Lori Lundin is a News Anchor/Reporter with Fox News Radio
August 15, 2009
Man pulls out 13 of his own teeth with pliers
A former soldier pulled his own teeth out with a pair of pliers because he could not find a dentist to take on NHS patients.
Iraq War veteran Ian Boynton could not afford to go private for treatment so instead took the drastic action to remove 13 of his teeth that were giving him severe pain.
The 42-year-old, from Beverley, East Yorkshire, had not had his teeth looked at since seeing the army dentist in 2003. He had not been registered with a dentist of his own since 2001.
DIY: Ian Boynton pulled out 13 of his teeth with a pair of pliers because he couldn’t afford a dentist
He said: ‘I’ve tried to get in at 30 dentists over the last eight years but have never been able to find one to take on NHS patients.’
But when Mr Boynton started suffering from toothache in 2006 he decided to take drastic action.
He said: ‘I started having pain in a front tooth, which protruded slightly more than the others. I was constantly fiddling with it and wiggling it because it hurt so much.
‘In the end I knew it had to come out and had to use the pliers to pull it. Amazingly, it did not hurt as much as you might think.
‘I think I’d been prising it that much in the meantime that I’d been killing the nerve.’
In the last two years Mr Boynton has pulled out 13 top teeth including molars, incisors and canines. He now only has two teeth left in the roof of his mouth.
He served as a medic in Iraq in 2003, but six months after leaving the Territorial Army had an accident while working as a paint sprayer that aggravated an old back injury.
Unemployed Mr Boynton, who is single, said: ‘It’s a horrible situation to be in when you can’t afford to go to the dentist when your teeth were so bad.’
In a stroke of ill-timed luck he has now finally found a dentist to take him on.
Mr Boynton said: ‘I think the situation has improved slightly because of all the uproar. Unfortunately it came too late for me.
‘I desperately needed a dentist because, although I’m no longer in pain, I need to have false teeth as I’m finding it difficult to eat.
‘Unfortunately I can’t make false teeth myself.’
A spokesman for NHS East Riding of Yorkshire said Mr Boynton’s case gave an ‘inaccurate scare-mongering picture of dental service provision in East Yorkshire based solely on the claims of one man’
The spokesman said: ‘As well as 34 dental practices, we have seven dental access centres across East Riding of Yorkshire, including Beverley, where Mr Boynton could access a full range of NHS dentist services.
‘So there is absolutely no reason why anyone should have to resort to pulling out their own teeth. NHS East Riding of Yorkshire has invested around �1 million in helping dentists target new patients. At many of our dental practices appointments are being offered to new patients within two weeks.
‘Our local out-of-hours and Accident and Emergency Services would have both been able to give Mr Boynton details of how to access emergency/urgent dental services if he had approached them.’
June 9, 2009
‘Millions’ resort to DIY dentistry
Eight per cent of people have attempted DIY dentistry according to consumer watchdog Which?
Of this number, over a quarter have tried to pull a tooth using pliers and 12% have tried using a piece of string tied to a door handle. Thirty per cent have tried to whiten their teeth with household cleaning products.
Other makeshift procedures included using household glue to stick down a filling or crown (11%), popping an ulcer with a pin (19%) and trying to mend or alter dentures (eight per cent).
Which? surveyed 2, 631 adults and claims that, applied to the country’s population, the findings indicate that three million are resorting to DIY dentistry.
The charity is now launching a campaign to investigate the state of modern dentistry to inform its response to the government’s independent review of services.
Which? health campaigner Jenny Driscoll said: “This research shows the desperate measures people will resort to. Everyone should have access to good quality dental treatment so it’s worrying to see so many people resorting to doing it themselves.”
England’s chief dental officer Barry Cockcroft said: “These findings come from an online multiple choice survey that has no statistical credibility. It is ludicrous to suggest that three million people are doing DIY dentistry.
“DIY dentistry is dangerous and unnecessary. Thanks to our investment of over £2bn in NHS dentistry, there are now lots of new NHS dental practices expanding and opening around the country.”
Responding to Which?’s figures, Roger Matthews, chief dental officer at Denplan said: “If this is the case, then I am not surprised that there is increased uptake on dental payment plans such as Denplan, as these allow private patients to budget for their dental treatment throughout the year, so there is no nasty bills, and no need to pull their own teeth!”
The Department of Health claims that there were 655 more dentists in 2008 than the previous year and 940,000 more courses of treatment delivered to patients.
However, it was reported in December that 1.2m fewer people have seen an NHS dentist since new dentist contracts were introduced in 2006.
Source: Health Insurance
April 25, 2009
Dental tourism anyone?
Many people from the Gulf travel to India to get their teeth seen to – the way Brits go to Poland.
Treatment can take several weeks involving a number of visits to the dentist.
An NGO in Hyderabad has plans to persuade people coming to the city for treatment to spend the time between surgery visits holidaying in rural Andra Pradesh. This they say will benefit local villages.
These are no ordinary villages though, and this is no ordinary NGO.
Byrraju Foundation was set up in 2001 by Ramalinga Raju, chairman of Satyam, one of India’s biggest software houses. The foundation works with close to 200 villages in a holistic development programme aiming to create permanent, economically sustainable improvements in living standards.
Technology is one of the keys.
Amongst other initiatives Byrraju has created mini call centres in four villages, training local graduates from the villages in the necessary skills to provide back office services to India companies.
Dental tourism is their latest innovation. The programme kicks of in August.
The impressive business like, results focused approach of this foundation has attracted international recognition and support from the Government of India.
For more details see: www.byrrajufoundation.org
April 20, 2009
Dentists around the world
Source: www.coolworks.com
I think my teeth are the only part of my body, which causes me to visit doctors frequently. The reason for this is, most probably, my passion for sweets and cakes.
In the last few years I have been at dentists in 6 different countries: Lithuania, Denmark, Germany, Ethiopia, Mexico and Belize. Tooth treatment in the last 2 countries I got just recently, few months ago. As it often happens in the beginning of longer trips, I got toothache not long after the start of Katja’s and mine journey in Central America this year. However, the most interesting and the most exciting experience I have made 2 years ago in Ethiopia (Africa).
I had just a few days left before my departure from Germany to Ethiopia, where I started my hitch-hiking trip through East Africa. A huge tooth filling would fall out and I would urgently need to visit a dentist in Berlin. In about a week, when I would already be in Addis Ababa (the capital of Ethiopia), the small piece of another tooth would fall out. I was ready to face African dentist experience. My local friend would not be able to advice which dentist to go to, as he had never got much of teeth problems (he does not like sweets 
.
I would choose the first dentist in town I have seen that day. My friends would explain that the dentists are facing tough competition these days, so their equipment is for sure more or less modern. The place I went did not seem to participate in the overall competition. I would come inside and ask directly: “Is the equipment you have in the office modern enough? The doctor would have no doubt: “yes, yes, it is one of the newest…” he would reply. When I entered the room, I understood – the modernity there was at least 10 years old. I got a little bit nervous. I would think his tooth drill will make all my teeth to fall out of the mouth. But (!), surprisingly, the doctor has never touched the drill during the treatment. He would grab a pencil-like tool and scratch the broken part of my tooth. Then he would place a bunch of ordinary loosen absorbent cotton into my mouth (I had difficulties to clean my mouth from it afterwards). Next, the dentist would blow cold air, in order to make the tooth surface dry. He would ask his assistant to prepare the filling, and would chuck it with a single throw on my broken tooth, fix a little bit the shape and use a special device (ultraviolet light, I guess) to make the filling solid. The doctor would ask if my bite is more or less comfortable, and after my positive answer he would announce: “the treatment is finished!” Suddenly, the dentist and the assistant would disappear, leaving me sitting on the chair. In few moments the assistant would bring a cracked mirror, where I could look at the result of the treatment. I would have no other choice as to make them happy by a big artificial smile.
Before I paid the service fee, the dentist would call me from the other room: “come on here!” I would accept his invitation and enter a room with a computer and an x-ray camera. The doctor was ready to make me a surprise: “I will show your tooth on my computer, for free”, he explained. I would guess in 30 years of working experience, he had never had a white man as a client. Finally, this would be the Day, and he has a chance to show how cool is he. I suppose, not using a drill for preparing tooth fillings, is also kind of a prove of being cool and professional
At the end, after 2 tries he would get the right x-ray of my tooth, which we would observe together on the monitor. To tell the truth I was really amazed. It was the first dentist in my life, which would not use film and chemicals for producing an x-ray picture.
My one-time visit to this doctor ended paying about $22 for the whole service. I wish to reduce my passion for sweets and avoid frequent treatments of my teeth, even though it sometimes gives nice experiences.
Dental Care Belize Style
Before I left the states for Belize, my wisdom teeth started coming in. Now don’t ask me why they waited so long. I thought maybe it was significant with the timing of leaving for my trip. Maybe I would need extra wisdom for what was to come, or maybe deciding to go to Belize was a wise choice and my wisdom teeth were letting me know. I even searched online to see if there is an ‘old wives’ tale about wisdom teeth and how they became known as such. I found no such tale, so if anyone does know and they care to share, I would love to hear it.
Anyway, I went to the dentist before I came down and they recommended I get them taken out. Both uppers were coming in and impacted. Without insurance, the estimates I was getting were $900 – $1200 total, which included local anesthesia (not the put you out kind). For a few reasons (including cost), I decided to wait. At the time I realized this was a risk, going to a ’3rd world country’ with a issue that would need to be addressed.
Well, my wisdom teeth continued to come in, and I have been quite happy with my decision to keep them. I thought, maybe it is more natural to keep them. You can’t tell me that people since the beginning of time have had to have their wisdom teeth extracted. I mean, if that’s the case, doesn’t that seem like a design flaw? I believe there is a purpose for everything. They have been yanking appendixes out of people for a long time, and just this year discovered that, duh, this thing must have a purpose. (Sorry, tangent).
So all was well with this plan until 4 days ago when the area around my right wisdom tooth started to get inflamed. I waited for it to get better, but since I am leaving to study with Rosita again on Friday, I decided to have it looked at today. Everyone I have spoken with about dental care have referred me either to dentists in Belize City, or in Chetemal, Mexico. Well, somewhat extensive travel is involved with both. So this morning, I headed down middle street, to find the only dentist in town that I have heard of. With no phone number in the phone book, or a number posted outside, and others telling me they have tried to go to this dentist but he is never there, I was a little nervous. I found the place all right, stopped in and had a seat on the plastic lawn chair in the waiting room. I could tell someone was in the other room talking on the phone, so I picked up a In Touch magazine from June 2005 with Julia Roberts and new born twins on the cover. (It is impossible to get a magazine here unless it’s brought in from the states). The dentist then had me come back to take a look. He said for $100 belize dollars each (that is $50 US each), he could pull them right away. Well, this is a lot less money than the states, and right away? I have to schedule my every 6 month cleanings 7 months ahead of time in the states!
I decided to take a small walk just to be sure this is what I wanted to do, and took a Belizean friend back with me that speaks spanish. I could tell we were going to have a little language barrier.
Back at the dentist, I had a seat in the 1970′s dental chair as he tilted it back. After putting some cherry flavored ointment on my gums, he numbed them with some novocaine. Within 5 minutes he pulled the left one. I didn’t even feel it or know he pulled it until I realized it was sitting on the tray. Then another 5 minutes and he pulled the right one. Is this what all the fuss was about? Month’s of thinking about the procedure and a few tooth infections, all to be relieved in a 3rd world dental office in 10 minutes? I think I’ll have all my dental care here! I mean, a cleaning probably cost $15 bucks!
A written prescription for Amoxicillon and Ibuprophren for the next couple days, and I am set! The pharmacy was able to give me the exact number of pills I needed and it was all over the counter. The total for the medication was $21.00 belize, or $10.50 US. Not bad at all!!!
Dental tourism in Belize – exotic and cheap
THE WORLD OF DENTAL TOURISM
Author: Roberta DeFrisco, International Living
Like millions of Americans, Ken has no dental insurance coverage and so was willing to join the rapidly growing number of “Dental Tourists” who cross borders to get high quality dental treatment they can afford in a short time frame.
Ken didn’t have to take a transcontinental flight or deal with a foreign language when he went abroad for his dental treatment.
A 2 hour flight out of Houston got Ken to English-speaking Belize where the November weather was balmy. We spoke to Ken shortly after he arrived in Belize and again a week later:
Q-”This was your first full day in Belize and you spent it all at the dentist. How did you end up in a dental clinic in Belize?”
A-”When I realized how much this was going to cost me up in Seattle I started looking for alternatives. This sounded like a great opportunity to come to Belize and get the dental care I needed.” “I was at the dentist all day today and the office was clean and the staff was very friendly and professional. They have a very no nonsense approach to dental care which is great because I am here to save money.”
Q-”What did you have done today?”
A- “He immediately went to work on the tooth that was bothering me; he did a root canal and took some impressions so that he could build a crown. Then he checked my other teeth and found a tooth that had a filling that needed to be replaced so he decided to take care of that right away. He looked at my other teeth and although he had concerns about some of them, he didn’t feel that any of them required crowns at this time. He decided to build up my eye teeth to put veneers on them because I am a grinder. He did a cleaning and a whitening as well.” “At the end of the appointment the dentist went through all the procedures and gave me a list of everything, it will cost $2,150. This would have cost at least $6,000 in the US. So between the airfare and the hotel which was about another $1,000, I figure I’m saving about $3,000 doing it this way. “I know that there are about 3 or 4 teeth that are gong to need crowns in the next couple of years and I will definitely come back and have it done here. I’m a small business owner and I just recently was able to afford to buy health insurance for the first time in 3 years, we have a $6,000 a year deductible and no dental coverage. So we started looking around at different health insurance options and we decided to go with what’s known as a health savings account. If you have a health savings account one of the things that you can use those funds for is dental care. So that’s one of the reasons why we did that. The way that the health savings account works is that we can put money into this account like an IRA, so it’s going in tax free, the money comes out of the account tax free, so the money that I’m spending on this trip is all tax free money, so even though it’s costing me $3,000 I’m actually saving $600-700 on taxes.”
Q- “That’s very interesting, where did you find out about health savings accounts?”
A- “On the internet of course (laughing). It’s actually a fairly new thing, it came out about 2 yrs ago so it hasn’t really taken off yet but I think that a lot of people are going to be faced with that as their best option in the future, because health care costs are just spiraling out of control in the US and it’s the only way you can afford insurance anymore, it’s a pretty good option.” Q- “Tell us about the logistics of your trip?” A- “All the transportation to and from the airport and the dentist office everyday was taken care of for me. I’m staying in a European style Bed & Breakfast right in town that’s just 2 blocks from the Caribbean Sea and it’s a beautiful facility, they have great breakfasts, the rooms are spacious and there lots of restaurants in the neighborhood. I feel comfortable, I feel safe.”
Q- “You’re not actually on vacation here this time are you?”
A- “Since I run a small business, I’m an independent contract programmer, I needed to be able to work while I was here, it just wasn’t the right time for a vacation. I’m right at the tail end of a big project and I have to get it done. So I made sure that I had all the accommodations that I needed to work, I have an internet connection in my hotel room and I brought my laptop along and an extra big screen because I do web development and so I set that up and continue to work and I was able to get online and work just like I’m at home. I had asked about renting office space by the day and was able to arrange that as well, I ended up not doing that because I was able to work at the hotel but next time I’m going to rent the office space and my clients will never even have to know that I’m in Belize.
Q- “Did you get to do anything fun while you were in Belize?”
A- “Yes,…. It starts out as a jungle cruise for about 40 miles up the river and you end up at Mayan ruins, it is a huge, huge site. The ruin was fabulous, it is amazing to me that there is something that old here; I mean its thousands of years old. Saw lots of wildlife and interesting plants. We did see the monkeys, they were in the trees, I was standing on a pyramid when I heard them so I was eye level with them. So we spent the day there and they gave us lunch, for the whole day I spent $45… it was just fabulous. And on the way out there we stopped at the Mennonite community. I’ll come back to Belize for a vacation and for more dental work; my wife and I will come back for a vacation maybe as early as January or February.”
Ken’s Final Bill:
Oral exam with 4 x-rays-$60
Cleaning and scaling-$45
2 porcelain veneers-$950
2-step in-clinic whitening treatment-$350
One porcelain crown-$260
One ceramic filling-$45
One root canal w/ 3 roots-$225
Post and Core-$90
Night guard and impression-$100
Ken’s total bill at the clinic was $2,125
But not everyone is as adventurous as Ken. Chuck Martin, from Dallas, whose mother and step-father retired in Belize in the 1990′s, had been afraid to even come to visit. He and his wife Sandy imagined a dangerous, desolate place with bandidos lurking around every corner. When he realized the 5 unit porcelain bridge he needed would cost well over $4,000, he decided to combine a long overdue trip to visit Mom with a few dental appointments. Chuck booked a bargain flight to Cancun, only 250 miles from Belize, and stayed in his parent’s spacious custom-built home in Corozal.
Chuck- “One of the things I was concerned about was cleanliness. I saw that the dentist had all the modern equipment and used all the tools that would be used in the US., his clinic is probably less then 2 years old, very clean and I noted his staff was very hygiene oriented. The lab was right there in town to do my bridge work and they got a temporary over in a few hours for me to wear out the first day I went. Then during the second visit, later in the week, the permanent bridge was done and he was able to finish the job.”
Sandy- “I was very impressed with how clean the office was and I loved the dentist’s personality, he was not pushy so we enjoyed the whole visit. You can be sure that we would have not got any work done there if I had felt that there was any reason for concern for safety or sanitary reasons.”
Chuck- “I thought this guy would do a sloppy job because I don’t live here, and he knows that I’m not going to come back and say, ‘hey you messed up’. But he really took the time to make sure that my impressions were good and the color match was ok, that was very vital to him because he took great pride in his work.”
“I GOT THE 5 TOOTH PORCELAIN BRIDGE AND 3 FILLINGS REPLACED FOR JUST OVER $1,000; IT WOULD HAVE COST ME WELL OVER $4,000 FOR JUST THE BRIDGE BACK HOME IN DALLAS.” WHY ARE THE COSTS SO LOW?
The greatly reduced costs of running a clinic in a developing country are miniscule when compared with countries like the US. Property costs are low, labor is a fraction, and because patients pay cash, the mountains of paperwork generated by billing insurance companies is non-existent, further reducing the need to staff employees just to deal with it. And the need for expensive malpractice insurance does not exist in less litigious societies.
THE DOWN SIDE Travel can be stressful and illness or discomfort can be exacerbated by stress. Good planning, of course, can eliminate some, if not most, of the stress. If long term follow up care is needed, you will have to pursue that back home. Articles on Medical/Dental tourism usually carry warnings from a local professional body advising against travel for healthcare, but in reality, with out comparative data to draw on it is hard to take such warnings seriously.
THE BOOM FACTOR
Even those who are covered by dental insurance are often “under-insured” and don’t have coverage for procedures considered excessive or cosmetic in nature. Dental implants for example, which will give aging baby boomers an option to dentures, are expensive and rarely covered by insurance policies. PORCELAIN VENEERS WHICH CAN TAKE A DULL SMILE TO HOLLYWOOD STATUS IN 2 TREATMENTS, CAN COST BETWEEN $1,000-$2,000 PER TOOTH IF DONE IN THE STATES, BUT HAVING THE WORK DONE ABROAD CAN CUT THE COST BY 75%. Aesthetic procedures seen on programs like “Extreme Makeovers” are rapidly growing in demand. Porcelain veneers which can take a dull smile to Hollywood status in 2 treatments, can cost between $1,000-$2,000 per tooth if done in the States, but having the work done abroad can cut the cost by 75%.
Drew and Karen Travers are both retired physicians assistants from Wiscasset, Maine now living in Placencia, Belize. They faced the decision as to where to get a single implant Drew needed for a missing front tooth. Having undergone the initial stage, a bone graft, in the US, he was faced with a $17,000 tab to complete the procedure. He was at first hesitant to believe he could have such a highly specialized procedure done in Belize but, after consulting with a recommended Belizean dentist, Drew’s outlook changed.
Q- “As someone with a medical background what were your impressions of the clinic?” Drew- “Very modern office and equipment and everyone was so professional, I really couldn’t be happier – it’s just like being in an excellent office facility in the US.”
Q- “What is the cost difference? Drew-
“It’s a huge difference.” Karen – “The estimates we got from in the states were for everything, and ran about $17,000. Whereas the estimate here is in the neighborhood of $2,000.”
Q- “And for people who are living outside of Belize?”
Drew- “Even if you are looking at coming down here from the US and paying for travel you are still way, way, way ahead of the game having it done here… and getting excellent work done.” Karen- “Because we both have a medical background we were pretty skeptical and leery and feeling very cautious and because of that we took the first appointment for an exam and cleaning as a trial and after that first visit there wasn’t any doubt in our mind that we were very comfortable with getting the care here.”
Q- “You don’t feel that you are sacrificing anything having that done here?” Drew- “Not at all, I think the standards here are as good and even better. I really think the infection control standards are excellent in this clinic. I’m sure there are offices around Belize that you might not find as good, but that’s true even in the US. But if you know where to go you don’t have to worry about it. There is just no reason to have to spend that kind of money to have good dental care.” And, judging by the growing popularity of Dental Tourism, many people seem to agree with those sentiments.
Lack of Insurance Drives Dental Tourism
Source: www.businessweek.com
With only half the U.S. population covered by dental insurance, Americans are flocking overseas for high-quality, low-cost dental care
The U.S. is facing a dental crisis.
Only about 50% of the population has dental insurance, compared with the 85% who have medical benefits. Medicare doesn’t cover dental procedures, despite the fact that aging teeth are just like aging bodies—vulnerable and brittle. That means more and more patients will be traveling abroad to take care of their pearly whites.
The problem in the U.S. is aggravated by the fact that even people with dental insurance aren’t that well covered. The vast majority of policies have a $1,500 annual cap on payouts, a level that hasn’t changed since the 1970s, though premiums have been rising. That $1,500 can easily be wiped out by one complicated root canal or a crown.
“Dentists have traditionally stayed away from getting involved with the insurance side,” says Dr. Stewart Hirsch, associate dean of New York University College of Dentistry in Manhattan. “But insurance increases access, and people with no insurance tend to stay away from the dentist.”
BIG SAVINGS
Or, they seek a cheaper option, and that explains why certain areas of Budapest, Prague, Tijuana, and Bangkok are lined with dental clinics advertising their services and prices in foreign languages. For years dental tourism has been a thriving subset of medical tourism, as American and European patients seek affordable care for decaying teeth. Some surveys estimate that as many as 30% of the population along the Texas side of the Rio Grande cross the border into Mexico for cheaper dental services. British dental patients have long traveled to Eastern Europe for care. And in a 2008 survey, the nonprofit Healthcare Tourism International found that dental services were the most common procedures sought out by medical travelers.
The savings those patients rack up can more than compensate for their travel costs. Teeth caps that range from $750 to $1,000 in the U.S. cost $150 in Mexico. In Hungary, a top-quality crown costs $780, compared with $1,200 to $2,000 in the U.S. London-based Hungarian Dental Travel has built a brisk business referring travelers to English-speaking dentists in Hungary, because “in Britain the average cost of an implant is $3,500, but in Hungary you can get it done for $1,000,” says Managing Director Christopher Hall.
Dental tourists are seeking far more than cosmetic improvements. Dental problems can be painful, can prevent a person from eating nutritiously, and can affect one’s ability to talk, smile, and even find a job—it’s tough to make a good impression if you’re missing teeth. Links have also been found between advanced gum disease and heart disease, stroke, and bacterial pneumonia.
SATISFIED DENTAL PATIENTS
How do the tourists feel about the quality of their care? Highly satisfied, according to Healthcare Tourism, since they usually patronize dental clinics set up to match the highest U.S. standards. “Every year we bring to NYU 110 dentists from 33 countries, train them in advanced procedures, and then they go home,” says New York University’s Hirsch. “There is no reason to assume the quality of care is any lower overseas.”
Last February, Fox News Radio reporter Lori Lundin blogged about her husband’s experience getting dental work in El Salvador. After being quoted $60,000 for a “full mouth reconstruction,” her husband decided to travel to El Salvador, where he was quoted $19,000 for the same work. “The dental care my husband has received has exceeded our expectations,” she wrote. “I would even say it’s been superior to what we’ve had in the States. The level of hospitality, concern for his well-being, and the short time it’s taken to get the work done has been nothing short of amazing.”
The American Dental Assn. does not take an official position on dental tourism, says its consumer adviser, Dr. Edmond Hewlett, an associate professor at University of California at Los Angeles School of Dentistry. “We tell people it is possible to get high-quality dental care in places other than the U.S., but they should be aware there are no international standards.” He also notes that there may be few legal protections if things go wrong. Nevertheless, Hewlett says, even he has offered advice to people seeking to go overseas for care. “You should find a dentist overseas the same way you find a dentist in the U.S.—through referrals,” he says.
Hard Economic Times Affect Patients, Dentists-and the Tooth Fairy
Source: www.cds.org
Topline Findings from a Survey of More Than 300 Dentists
February 12, 2009
In preparation for the Chicago Dental Society’s 144th annual Midwinter Meeting, which will draw more than 30,000 dental professionals to Chicago this February, society members were asked about oral care tips, current trends, their personal dental habits, and more. More than 300 of the society’s member dentists responded to the fall 2008 survey.
Here’s what the society found out:
Does the Tooth Fairy account for inflation? More than half of dentists surveyed feel $1 is a fair amount for the tooth fairy to pay for a child’s tooth-and the same percentage of dentists felt the same way in 2003. However more than 16 percent suggested a bump in pay to $2, and a little more than 17 percent feel the tooth fairy should pony up $5 per tooth!
Dentists brush up and often. More than 30 percent of dentists surveyed brush more than three times a day. And half of dentists brush the recommended twice a day.
Floss friendly. More than 60 percent of dentists floss once a day. Only 11 percent of dentists surveyed floss more than twice a day and 22 percent floss less than daily.
Forecast for ABC-7′s Tracy Butler: sunny skies and bright smiles. Of local Chicago TV weather personalities, ABC-7′s Tracy Butler won “best smile” with nearly 35 percent of votes from surveyed dentists. FOX-32 Amy Freeze’s smile came in second, with 28 percent of votes.
Dentists slowly warming up to the online world. 11 percent of dentists surveyed said they occasionally scan “review” websites such as Yelp.com and Angie’s List to find out what patients say about their practice.
Hard times push patients to halt dental care. With the recent economic crisis pinching wallets, more than 60 percent of dentists surveyed report that their patients are putting off cosmetic procedures. More than half say their patients are putting off needed dental work. Visits for preventative dental care are also on the decline according to more than 40 percent of dentists.
April 18, 2009
Dentists and Doctors Destroyed me. No one will help save my life. It could happen to you!
Source: http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-15921
