Dental tourism.
Dental vacations, or dental holidays, are an ancient practice that consists of traveling abroad seeking more suitable conditions in which get medical or dental treatment; a better condition may be related to a temperate climate, or to innovative medical treatments or to a more affordable prices of cares.
Dental holidays. Low cost dental.
Today, dental vacations are usually holidays spent in a cheaper country, a country of the so-called developing world, where people might find dental treatments at lower costs; many countries take advantages of the medical and dental industry to improve their economy and develop their medical structures and professionalism or their doctors and dentists.
The rising of dental vacations is due to different factors, even if the main impulse is the save of money: in some countries dental care might be expensive and dental insurance don’t cover all the expenses; if people need cosmetic dentistry or extensive cares, the prices may be very high, but sometimes even the basic treatments may be neglect because of the cost.
In other countries, prices are considerably low and costs might be halved.
Dental travel. Clients.
People who live close to an international border form the majority of dental health travelers. The US and Canadian citizens usually go to Mexico, Costa Rica. Ecuador or Perù; Western Europeans choose countries in the East Europe, like Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Albania. Most popular Asian country as a dental destination is Thailand.
In all these places dental cares are more affordable because the cost of labor and costs of living are generally lower, but the quality is saved because technologies and skills are wide-spread and many doctors and dentists travel to more advanced countries to be trained. For countries within the European Union, dental qualifications are required to reach a minimum and the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE) makes efforts to harmonize European standards.
Dental vacations. The organization.
Of course, dental vacations are something that has to be carefully planned, in order to avoid negative consequences and get the best from the experience: from country to country there might be relevant differences about sterilization, vaccination and infection control procedures; the languages may represent another block or a complication. To choose the best foreign dental clinics, dentists suggest to pay attention to prices, including the cost of travel and accommodation, find a well-known dentist, inform your personal dentist before traveling, plan a post-appointment care and look for an insurance.
