Dental tourism is when people travel to a foreign country for dental treatment due to high costs or limited coverage in their home country. It is a niche market within the tourism industry and can be divided into group holidays or tours for individual treatment. Patients weigh quality and cost when choosing a destination, and popular locations include Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Croatia. The treatments available are standard, but may vary from country to country. Dental tourism can benefit the destination country’s economy and healthcare industry, but raises ethical questions.
Dental tourism is a term associated with people who travel to a foreign country to receive treatment for their gums and teeth. Also called dental travel and tooth tourism, it is considered a niche market within the tourism industry and is not considered part of the national healthcare industry. Little research has been done on the effects of dental tourism, but an estimated 500,000 Americans alone traveled overseas for dental work in 2006.
The main motivating factor for dental tourism is cost. Even in countries with national health programs such as Western Europe, dental care is not always covered. In countries without a national health plan like America, the cost of dental health insurance and deductibles often make home dental care too expensive.
In addition to high prices, some customers find themselves in a position where coverage is limited. Others want to reduce waiting times by finding private treatment abroad. When deciding where to receive dental care, patients weigh quality and cost. Many dental offices in Central America and Eastern Europe combine high quality with low cost, making them attractive prospects.
Many programs and offers aim to combine dentistry with travel. This means that dental tourism can be divided into two basic types: holidays aimed at groups of patients receiving treatment, and tours in which one or two members treat themselves while the others act as regular tourists. Blended tourism also helps bridge the time gap between consultations and procedures. Some procedures such as root canal work are time consuming and need to be extended.
If the goal is to keep costs down, it makes sense for patients to look to reduce transportation costs. This means that certain regions are better for certain countries. US patients, for example, tend to visit dental clinics in Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama. British and Irish patients, on the other hand, tend to visit clinics in Eastern European countries such as Poland, Hungary, Romania and Croatia. Poland is a popular destination, for example, because it combines above-average quality, strict qualification criteria for dentists and below-average costs for the European Union.
The treatments available tend to be standard treatments found in various dental care clinics around the world. Of course, the nature of care may vary from country to country and may not be the same as care provided in the patient’s home country. These include removals, implants, and treatments for gum disease. It also includes the replacement of crowns and bridges.
Little research has been done on the nature and impact of dental tourism worldwide. The influx of tourists is positive for the destination country’s economy. These tourists spend money not only on dental care, but also on hotels, food, souvenirs and entrance fees to various attractions in the city or country they are visiting.
Dental tourism can also be beneficial to a country’s healthcare industry. For example, it can help the country finance development, retain high-quality personnel who might otherwise go abroad to work, and enforce better standards. There may also be a negative effect, especially if resources and tax money are diverted from local taxpayers and to foreigners. It also raises ethical questions about a patient using his relative wealth to exploit the health service of a poorer country.
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