Dental tourism

Traveling for medical procedures to third-world countries is not uncommon these days. A patient can receive a vast array of surgeries and treatments such as liposuction, general cosmetic surgery, fertility treatment, extensive orthopedic surgery, cancer therapy, and much more. The savings are substantial; for example, a particular website quoted a savings of up to 85% compared to the same medical care in the United States.1 Countries advertised as destinations for medical tourism include Poland, Belgium, Spain, Costa Rica, Argentina, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and Mexico (which is a popular destination).

Medical care is not the only reason for patients to seek a tourist vacation to the above destinations. A tourist can seek out dental care too, and, like medical tourism, Mexico also is a top destination. A patient seeking dental care can work directly with a tour company that provides a “travel agent” or adviser who plans the entire trip — flight, hotel, dental appointment coordination, and even airport transfers.

Dental tourism is a newly minted term for patients getting their dental work in foreign countries (usually third-world countries) while enjoying a vacation of sorts. It has become a big business. Dental offices do not routinely have patients leaving their practice to fly to Europe or India; however, Mexican dental tourism is a draw for Americans, combining a warm vacation with dental treatment.

American dentists and dental hygienists are not uniformly affected by dentistry offered in places like Mazatlan, Cancun, or Mexican border cities; however, dental professionals in Arizona, for example, understand the effects of dental tourism all too well. Arizona borders Mexico and is only a short drive away; American dental professionals routinely see new and current patients of record request follow-up treatment with a mouthful of dentistry performed by dentists in Mexico.

Although some Mexican dentists are trained in the United States, the majority are educated and trained in Mexico. They open their practices near border cities with the intent of competing with American dentists for patients. Years ago, this occurred only rarely, but with the recent economic downturn, patients take their diagnosed restorative needs from American offices and head south.

Arizona is not the only southwestern state affected by dental tourism. California and Texas are also affected. The corresponding U.S./Mexico border cities offering dentistry and pulling U.S citizens south is Tijuana (south of San Diego, Calif.), Juarez (south of El Paso, Texas), and Los Algodones (south of Yuma, Ariz.).

Patients who use these areas for dentistry can be creative, even deceptive, in how they use us to get a reliable diagnosis and merely take the tooth numbers and recommendations with them to Mexico. In the Arizona office where I work, we treat all patients as if they will consider us for their restorative treatments; but the majority of patients who travel to Mexico are brazen about jotting down the teeth we diagnose and taking the information with them. With these patients, our office is a place for current X-rays, prophylaxis, and a reliable diagnostician.

Source - rdhmag