Residents of the United States often treat teeth in other countries: how justified are such savings

The fabulous cost of healthcare in the United States is legendary. You can get a bill for thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars after a simple manipulation in the hospital, especially if you do not have insurance. But even if it is, then you will have to treat your teeth at your own expense, since a separate dental insurance is required to cover dentist services, which not everyone has. But teeth are an important part of the appearance (especially since we finally removed the masks), and if they are yellow, crooked or not all, then this does not contribute to self-confidence and success. Such problems are solved with the help of implants, veneers or crowns, but the prices for their installation in the United States seem unaffordable to many, so immigrants often go to other countries to make a smile.

Such methods of saving on health, although quite popular in the United States, raise questions and concerns from many ForumDaily readers. Therefore, we asked Dr. Solomon Rafailov, a dentist from a renowned New York clinic Bright white dental, assess the safety of dental tourism.

Put yourself in the hands of luck

Prices for dental services in many countries can indeed be lower than in America. But the question is not only and not so much about money, but also about quality and safety. In the United States, doctors are certified, and the quality of their work is constantly monitored, in other countries everything may be different.

Installation of an implant is a surgical intervention in which the doctor's skills, the quality of anesthesia, sterility, materials, technologies are very important. You can save on all this, use low-quality materials - and the cost of installing the implant will be low, but in this case, its functionality, as well as the safety of the patient during the procedure, remain in question. Dr. Solomon Rafailov noted that his clinic Bright white dental uses only technologies that have been proven to be effective and safe. His clinics are equipped with modern 3D equipment for diagnostics, planning and implantation. Dr. Rafailov stressed that Bright white dental uses only high-quality materials, because the level of savings is disproportionate to the risks that a patient may be exposed to in case of using low-quality materials and drugs.

If the diagnosis is incorrectly carried out before the procedure or the use of materials of poor quality, the implants may eventually fall out. If the doctor did not see or did not take into account the patient's medical condition, then the implants are not integrated into the bone, and all the pain suffered and the money spent will be wasted, everything will have to be done again in the clinic with the best equipment.

It should be understood that the registration documents of a clinic are not yet a guarantee of the quality of its work. After all, we do not know what requirements for hospital registration are put forward in different countries. In addition, the owner of a private clinic could simply pay to get the necessary documents and provide services of questionable quality to foreigners who do not fully understand the situation, because corruption is a very common problem in many poor countries.

Therefore, to treat teeth in another country is to completely surrender yourself to the hands of good luck, risking your health and your smile.

Controversial savings

Installation of veneers and implants - time-consuming procedures. Doctors say that you need to have a few weeks in stock so that the dentist can set everything up and correct if necessary.

According to Dr. Rafailov, the minimum period for which a tooth should be implanted is 3 months. During this time, the implant takes root on the lower jaw and only if it was not necessary to restore the volume of bone tissue. Implantation is a lengthy process, consisting of important stages, none of which can be missed.

Thus, the savings from dental tourism look very dubious. Add the cost of roundtrip flights and several weeks of hotel stays to a foreign dentist bill, and the total is likely to far exceed the cost of a dentist in America.

And if you, at your own peril and risk, decide to return home immediately after the procedure itself, then the process, in fact, starts to take its course and there is no proper control over how the implant takes root. In this case, the favorable outcome of the procedure remains a big question.

Moreover, many clinics in the USA, including Bright white dental, offer to pay for their work in installments when it comes to expensive procedures. Therefore, implants and veneers in America are now available to people with different incomes, while there is no need to go anywhere, and doctors can ensure proper control over how everything takes root.

The dentist must understand what has been done to you and be near

If you have pre-made teeth (that is, there are crowns, veneers, implants), it is better to have your dentist nearby. Even with a well-done job, improper care or an emergency can disrupt something and it will need to be corrected pretty quickly.

It is not so easy to organize a flight to another country to quickly correct a smile: you need to take several days off at work, find tickets for the desired date and at a good price, or even get a visa (depending on which country you were treated in).

If you decide to correct the work of a foreign dentist in America or come to a doctor in the United States with a request to correct the mistakes of a dentist from another country, then this may be an impossible task. Different countries may use different methods and technologies for installing implants, crowns or veneers, and in many cases a doctor in the United States simply will not understand the technology by which you were treated abroad, and therefore will not be able to help correct the mistake of his foreign colleague. That is, you either need to fly again to the same doctor abroad, or redo it all over again in America.

In America, you can also find clinics with affordable prices.

ForumDaily readers note that there are dental clinics in the United States with affordable prices and high quality services. You just need to study the suggestions and reviews.

In addition, an installment plan, which is offered by Dr. Rafailov's clinic located in New York, can help with payment. Bright white dentaland many others.