Travel to Europe for Dental Tourism

We all want good oral health. But the high cost of dental care, especially in the USA, UK, and Canada means most of us must choose between having our teeth fixed or paying our monthly bills. That is a choice we should not have to make.

The process of seeking affordable yet world class treatment for dental problems in foreign countries is known as dental travel or dental tourism.  The often high costs of dental treatment have begun to force patients to look overseas for dental tourism options.

Dental tourism is the practice of going overseas for quality dental care at a fraction of the cost. Savings on dental work can be up to 70%, and once you pay for travel and hotel, savings will still be hundreds or thousands of dollars, pounds or euros.The healthcare systems in many European countries are plagued by high costs.  But central and east European countries are gradually entering the medical and dental travel industry with cost-effective solutions.  Countries like Poland or Hungary are leaders in the industry, and increasingly, people from the UK and other European countries are looking at these countries for problems with dental health. 

DID gathers information about dental care providers and propose it to you in order to ease your researches and your understanding of dental treaments and dental specialities, such as implantology, oral surgery, periodontics, maxillofacial surgery, teeth whitening etc.

Depending on where you live and where you are traveling to, you can save 40-70% less than in your own country.  

People have traveled for tooth care for decades. So many Americans go to Mexico that literally thousands of dentists are located all along the Mexican side of the US border. In Europe, busloads of Swiss go to Hungary or Germans to the Czech Republic. Austrians go to Hungary. People from the UK go just about anywhere else in Europe for lower prices.

The cost of travel and accommodations must be added to your budget. But even after adding these costs, you could still save thousands of dollars/pounds/euros on your dental work, and have a vacation at the same time.

Are you looking for a certain country or dental provider? You will find all information you need to choose from the providers listed on our website. Through our dental enquiry form you can provide brief information about what you would like to have, which dental provider you would like a quote from, which country you are considering and even you have a chance to attach your dental X-ray to be sent to the clinics you would like to have a dental quote from.

Say what you have to say about dentistry: Our forum is opened in order to allow you ask your questions and find existing informations about dental cares and patient stories.

We do our best to give you a hand in your searches of informations about dental care and dental tourism in European countries.

The most popular dental destinations:

Hungary

In Europe, the favored destination for dental tourism is Hungary.  It concerns especially the riparian countries such as Austria, Germany, Switzerland or France but also Great Britain, the United States and Canada.  For fifteen years now, Germans and Austrians have come for treatment in Hungary.

In Hungary, some 1400 dentists would practice along the Austrian border, a real revolution. SOPRON, is a border town which has between 150 and 400 dentists, the number, however, is staggering.  In a city of 50 000 citizens, it should hardly be more than 20.  Every weekend, in fact, thousands of tourists, mainly from Austria, but also German, Swiss, Italian and even Dutch and French, stumbles across the border to receive dental care at lower prices.

There are more specialized sites and forums for discussions on dental tourism in Hungary than elsewere.  To attract potential patients-clients, the websites of the Hungarian dental clinics go well beyond the simple exposition of their rates and quotation forms.  The sites are in fact offered in several languages, and often present the multilingual staff and displays photos of  cabinets inspiring serenity, not the stress of surgical practice. No doubt, Hungary is considered as Europe's real dental centre - just along the borders to Austria there work 1400 dentists. To provide Sopron's 50 thousand residents with dental services, 20 practitioners alone would be enough but the number of dentists in the city amounts to 400.

The western part of the country is a typical destination for dental tourists arriving from the surrounding German speaking countries (Austria, Germany, and Switzerland) while the capitol, in the first place, for UK, French and Italian patients. The materials used, modern equipment and instruments in the dental offices and the quality level of Dental Prosthetics all correspond nearly with those in Western-Europe.

Thanks to the education in Dental Schools, the professional knowledge of the Hungarian dentists is renowned all around the world. The 5 year basic education is followed by a 2 year residency period and after a successful qualification the candidates receive their diploma as medical specialists. For the dentists, permanent continuing education is compulsory.

Besides the education in Hungarian language, the presence of foreign students is also significant. Foreign students from former socialist states have been replaced by attendants from English and German speaking areas. During the 50 year existence of the Dental School at Semmelweiss University, 800 out of almost 4800 dentists, who graduated here, came from 36 countries. Besides the centre in Budapest, the other three universities in the country provide the very same high-quality dental education.

As a science, Dentistry has extraordinary demands for materials and tools, so the rapid development of other neighbour-disciplines has given a huge boost to the wide range of various dental therapies.

In Hungary, there are nearly 6000 practising dentists and this number in 10000 residents exceeds the total of the neighbouring countries in Central-Eastern-Europe. (In Poland with a similarly prospering dental tourism and a fourfold bigger population there are only 17 thousand specialists.) About 2800 dental technicians support the work of the Hungarian dentists at an excellent level. The dental laboratories always meet the increasing demands for the best aesthetical and functional high-quality outcomes and provide thorough dental prosthetic services in form of removable and fixed dentures.

Many of the most prominent dental unit manufacturers and material suppliers have chosen Budapest as a site for their regional centre in the past years. In addition, they regularly organise their hands-on courses and product presentations in Hungary for dentists and dental technicians from the neighbouring countries. Of course, the direction often can be reversed when Hungarian dentists and technicians are asked to give lectures at symposiums or workshops in Romania, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia or Russia.

Unquestionably, the dental centre of Central-Eastern-Europe is Hungary. Several companies supply from here dental devices and materials to about 60 thousand dentists, 30 thousand technicians and lots of dental trade partners in the region from Croatia, over the Czech Republic to Ukraine.

Given these conditions, the 'market' is developing continuously thanks not only to the dental tourism but the increasing needs and good solvency of the local population."

Romania

Besides the usual destinations with which Romania was made famous in the tourism industry, cultural or thematic tourism agencies have aligned themself with global trends, offering tourism and said 'dental tourism', sought by more and more Westerners because of the price explosion in dental offices in Western Europe and North America.

Near Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, Romania is an active member of dental tourism in Eastern Europe where you can get dental treatment of high quality at very cheap prices compared to UK, Germany or other countries, members of the EU or even the United States or Canada.  Private clinics offer the same health services that clinics in developed countries, and the staff includes specialists formed in Europe.  Romania is considered by many the most beautiful country in Eastern Europe, and its regions are recognized as strongholds in a medieval past.

Czech Republic and Poland

In the Czech Republic, foreigners have come already for several years to receive dental care or cosmetic surgery because of rates and quality of treatment.

Dental tourism alone moves more than 250 000 patients each year for a holiday combined with dental treatment in Eastern Europe.  Dental care tourism is particularly attractive in Western Europe, the USA, in Britain or Canada not only because of the endless waiting lists for major dental treatment, but also because of the price practiced in the region.  The possibility of receiving dental treatment and in the same trip to enjoy different tourist activities in the countries of Eastern Europe like Czech Republic or Poland, represents an attractive opportunity for many patients and in this may way combine the useful with the fun of summer vacation.

Spain & Canary Islands

For those who want to make a dental visit in Spain they should know that the Spanish health system is quite correct, the benefits are quality and shortened time-frame.  All dental offices are private and usually they charge far less than what is the norm in the rest of Western Europe.  In terms of geography, Spain includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, on the northwest coast of Africa.  Melilla and Ceuta, two city enclaves on the north coast of Africa, also belong to Spain.  In Spain, among the most visited cities are the Canary Islands but also the island of Tenerife.

Cost comparison of European countries on dental implants (percentage saving on UK/US price):