Overseas dental treatment
For an increasing number of people, an overseas holiday means a chance to get some dental work done ‘on the cheap’.
While it’s true you may save some money in the short term, the reality is that things can go wrong and all those expected savings can quickly disappear.
While Australian dentists are trained to a very high standard, must be registered, and are required to operate in a strictly-regulated environment, not all countries have the same requirements, especially when it comes to their infection control.
Let’s be honest – things can go wrong in any dental chair. The difference is that when the work is done in Australia, you’re close to highly-trained dentists who can perform corrective procedures. But if the work’s done overseas, you may be cut off from the expert emergency care you need.
Many dental treatments, such as root canal surgery, need to be conducted over a number of visits at least a week apart to give the teeth and gums sufficient time to recover between procedures. Trying to squeeze a complex number of procedures into a typical holiday means you’re risking all kinds of complications, even if the work is performed to an acceptable standard.
What about an implant? Sounds good, but what about if a problem occurs, are you willing to travel back overseas? Well, the realism is many Australian dentists are not willing to touch any work done overseas. If you have trouble with your implant Australian dentists may no have or have access to the same tool’s instruments required for that type/brand on implant.
Before committing ask yourself if it’s really worth it. Will you be able to have any complications rectified and at what expense and time commitment?
