Experts have revealed the hidden dangers posed by Britons who travel abroad for cheap dental treatments and how it can make it almost impossible to find help at home if something goes wrong. Tens of thousands of UK residents flock to hotspots such as Turkey, Hungary, Poland and Spain to get dental procedures at a fraction of the price it costs at home.
But if the worst happens and the treatment doesn’t work as hoped, patients face being snubbed by dentists at home because of the complexities of the domestic dental system. NHS dentists are not paid to do advanced dental work such as rescuing a botched cosmetic treatment, meaning they will often refer the patient to a dental hospital.
However, hospitals will usually bounce the patient back to the referring dentist due to a lack of capacity and lack of funding, and the practitioner can simply refuse to provide treatment if they feel the case is too difficult or risky. This can result in a patient being left to live with the results of a disastrous treatment if they cannot afford to have it remedied privately. Remedial private dental care is often carried out by selective specialist clinics and the cost can be more than double of the original treatment cost in the UK
Dr Azad Eyrumlu, CEO of private dental firm Banning Dental Group, said: “Dental tourism has been on the rise for many years and each year thousands of Britons flock abroad in the search for the perfect smile. They are attracted by the cost and the quick turnaround of treatment and many receive a treatment plan before even consulting the patients.
“However, many people don’t properly consider the risks of having complex procedures in a foreign country where standards may not be as high as the UK and there may be a severe lack of aftercare. Very few countries in the world have dental care as regulated as in the UK.
“Complex dental procedures often require a lot of aftercare and fine-tuning, which can be difficult to do if you have to travel hundreds of miles for each appointment. Many treatments need time for the body to heal such as with dental implants and it is not something that can be finished on a holiday.
“If something goes wrong, it can prove almost impossible for a patient to find an NHS dentist willing to take on the challenge of correcting it because of the complexities of the system here. NHS and GDC regulations state that dentists must only treat what they feel comfortable with, and NHS dentists may feel it is not worth the risk, meaning the patient will end up having to go down the private route.
“Naturally the private dentists would charge a lot more to cover any loss or risk of having to compensate the patient if the treatment fails. All of this means that having treatment abroad can be the start of a vicious cycle which ends up being a lot more expensive and troublesome than just having the treatment at home in the first place.”
Dental tourism is the term given to the practice of flying abroad for dental treatment, whether it’s routine work or a cosmetic procedure such as veneers. It has soared in popularity in the past decade, rising from 48,000 patients in 2014 to 144,000 in 2016 according to latest figures.
Often patients will pay for a package that includes flights and accommodation as well as the procedure itself. Dr Eyrumlu is urging anyone considering travelling abroad for treatment to comprehensively consider all of the potential pros and cons and not just base a decision on money.
He added: “Clinics in the UK must have the highest levels of hygiene, expertise and care, so it’s natural that this might cost a little more than a cheap clinic abroad that doesn’t have to subscribe to the same standards, or use quality materials and dental laboratories.
“However, it can be a major false economy to base such an important decision on finances alone, as the slightest problem can end up bringing the total bill way past what it would have cost to have it done at home.
“It is important to consider what can go wrong and how you would be able to deal with these complications, not just assume that everything will go smoothly. Dental treatment is not one single treatment and is usually the start of complex maintenance to remain successful in the long term.
“My advice is to do your research, know exactly what it is you’re letting yourself in for and be careful who you place your trust in.”
