Dental Tourism – Food for Thought

Dental Tourism – Food for Thought

Oct 29, 2017

Unfortunately, it is all too common for Australian dental practitioners to encounter patients suffering from poor quality work received overseas. What can be more unfortunate for most of these patients is the lack of recourse available against a foreign practice for their negligent or incompetent service.

The resulting cost of the dental repair can then exceed the amount the patient would have paid had they elected to undergo treatment on Australian soil. Furthermore, as a patient of the Australian dental system, you are protected by strict governing bodies and regulatory authorities that ensure quality of service, practitioner conduct and redress in the event of concerns.

It is unlikely that many foreign nations, especially developing ones, adhere to health and safety standards as stringent and professional as those of Australia, and other first world nations like it. Travelling for dentistry work will put you at risk of having unsterile equipment used upon you, exposing you to risks of infection and serious medical conditions. More importantly, should a complication place you in an emergency situation, you will be at the mercy of a foreign medical system.

Further, should you require radiotherapy and elect to undergo treatment overseas, you may be unwittingly placing yourself in serious danger. In Australia, the Department of Health ensures that all X-ray equipment used for dentistry is both licensed and maintained for accurate dosage and prevention of radiation leaks. In foreign countries, particularly those where profits speak more loudly than results, you may be less able to count upon such safety.

Australia’s dentists issue warning about ‘dental tourism’: Don’t gamble with your wallet or your dental health – Media Release from ADA

Please see some clinical sample cases on Management of Overseas

Dentistry Failures

Management of Overseas Dentistry Failures