Dental tourism will always be there. There are good clinicians all over he World. I think it is essential that if you do want treatment abroad, you’ve got to investigate and find the right clinician who can do the best treatment that they can for you.
But you have to be aware that if you are going to have your treatment elsewhere, and when you come back and you have problems within the UK, you may not have anybody who may help you. Because things may be complicated and without knowing what was the implant system that was used – there are over 600 implant systems that are used around the World – and it becomes more complicate. As a consequence, the costs will increase.
So if it is a simple implant treatment that you are having abroad and you are confident in your clinician and there is no complication, then I don’t think it is an issue. But if there are problems and you are back in the UK, then you will have to consider what you need to do…
We do have patients who ask, “Why are dental implants expensive and why are some implants cheaper than others?”
I think as a patient you have to make a decision based on why you are having this done? Do you want to have something done cheaply? Because you can’t have something done cheaply and it still is good!
Now as a periodontal specialist, a gum specialist, I lecture on dental implants and I also work with quite a few implant companies. I am a key opinion leader. Some of the dental implant companies that I am working with are at the cutting edge of implant dentistry.
I would, as a clinician, rather be putting the best implants in my own patients so that if there happen to be any issues in the future, they can be resolved, as we have a good backup from a well known company.
As an implant dentist and as a Periodontal Specialist, when I see my own patients, I utilise my Cone Beam CT Scanner to assess the quality of the bone and if there is ample bone available for the placement of an implant so that I can avoid any dangerous structures that could be a cause for problems in the future for my patients.
With my cutting edge equipment, I can precisely plan how to reconstruct the bone to accommodate my patient’s dental implant to ensure that there is long term success for my patient.
In my practice we use the latest technology by using our CT Scanner to assess the quantity and quality of the bone that you have. With the equipment, we can then create a virtual image to plan your implant placement within the computer model. And as a consequence, we can avoid mistakes or any deviation from the dental treatment plan.
We also have a 3D IntrAoral scanner which allows for impression techniques so that we can make your custom made crown from a 3D printed model. Things are just developing at a fast pace within the implant dentistry and it is of great important that your clinician and, me as your clinician, are at that cutting edge…
