Evening Herald, Interview with Dr. Schreiner

Sanco Dental in Cosmetic Surgery Magazine

Know the drill about dental care abroad

One of the biggest health worries facing many people today is dental care – or the lack of it.

The lack of NHS dentists and the high cost of private dentistry in the UK mean more of us are now going abroad to find cheaper treatment – and this trend looks set to continue.

In 2004, the number of Brits visiting foreign dental clinics was around 11,000; in 2007 the figure had risen to 49,000. This year it’s estimated that the number will rise even further to 60,000.

According to consumer organisation Which? the most common dental procedures abroad include crowns, implants, bridges, veneers and cosmetic dentistry like teeth whitening.

But is it safe to go to a foreign country for dental work? Yes, if you follow a few simple rules.

My advice is don’t be led by price alone – what’s more important is the dentist’s experience, qualifications and your rapport with them. Here’s how to get the right treatment at the right price.

Check out a few clinics then narrow them down to the best one.

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Dentistry, an industry in decay

Last week, it emerged that NHS dentistry reforms have only made matters worse, and the private sector is no better.

At customs and immigration they see us coming. A Brit has only to make landfall at an American point of entry, smile politely so as not to be taken for a terrorist and our country of origin is immediately known. Only dirt-poor farmers in the backwoods of the Appalachians have British teeth, teeth which from childhood have gone very badly wrong and which, in middle age, are crossed all over the place, the gums receding and big spaces where extractions have been performed.

Last Wednesday, news broke that the Government's recent contract with NHS dentists, introduced in 2006, has been such a failure that nearly a million fewer patients are visiting the dentist, and the number of crowns, bridges and dentures being fitted has fallen by more than half, while the number of extractions has risen.An estimated 7.4 million people cannot find an NHS dentist to do elementary dental work such as fillings.

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Patients go abroad as dentists' fees soar

The cost of dentistry has led to more Britons seeking cheaper treatment abroad, it was claimed yesterday.

England is the most expensive place in Europe for dental treatment. Those who either cannot afford private care or find an NHS dentist are increasingly looking overseas.

 Keith Pollard, the managing director of travel agency Treatment Abroad, said: "Hungary, for example, is much cheaper and the care is very good. Dentists' training is more extensive than in Britain and in fact, the NHS is recruiting from there."

Dentists' earnings have made treatment much more expensive in Britain, according to research by Erasmus University, Rotterdam.

Labour costs were £2.15 a minute in England and £0.06 in Hungary, the top destination for British "dental tourists".

The survey of nine European countries claimed that the cost of a standard filling ranged from £117 in England to £6 in Hungary.

The British Dental Association said the research, published in the journal Health Economics, was based on four practices out of 10,000.

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Pensioner makes 2,000 mile trip for dentistry

A pensioner travelled more than 2,000 miles on a round trip across Europe to get his teeth fixed, after his dentist went private.

Colin Foster headed from Bardsea to Budapest after discovering his dental work would cost less than half what it would at home.

Armed with the results of a national survey, which found six per cent of English patients had resorted to home dentistry, campaigners in the Lake District are urging health bosses to plough money into NHS surgeries, to prevent the area's dental drought from worsening.

Retired Mr Foster, 69, became one of an increasing number that head abroad for oral work after his NHS dentist went private and he was quoted thousands of pounds for work on a single tooth.

He has just returned from his third trip to Hungary, with nearly £2,000 of dental work to show for his travels, including an implant, two replacement crowns and two new crowns.

For full story see the October 19 edition of The Westmorland Gazette.

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