By Hiroaki Sakai
What if you had to replace the crown in your mouth? You may now have two options: You could travel to your Ottawa dentist, or you could couple your crown replacement with a trip to China. David McConnell chose the latter option.
McConnell, 59, used to be a federal civil servant, and now works in the private sector. As a part of his travel business, he spent one year teaching English in China.
Before leaving for China, he says, his teeth were in bad shape, since his tooth bridge had worn out.
He says he went to the dentist and found out the total estimated cost for replacing the bridge and receiving three new crowns was $8,400, so he decided to go to China without getting the work done.
McConnell says he ended up getting the work done in China, and was amazed at the modern clinic and low cost. The total came to $2,000.
“Compared to North American dental service, there is no apparent quality difference, however, when it comes to financially, there is,” says McConnell.
He points out that a person can save enough on the dental payment to cover the costs of two-week vacation in China.
Based on this, he came up “The InciDENTAL Tourist”, a two-week vacation in high-class resorts coupled with budget dental work.
“Canadians are great travellers,” says McConnell. “They seem to be planning the next trip anyway. Why do not they take advantage of it?”
He says he is trying to launch this idea with a website at www.incidentaltourist.com. He says he hopes his business will continue for many years, and has already scheduled the first trip to China next January.
He also says he would like to have a group leaving in the last two weeks of each month.
“We have concerns with dental tourism in general, since it does not allow for continuity of care―where a long term relationship is established,” says Beth Keeping, Canadian Dental Association spokeswoman.
She says the relationship between dentists and patients is very important for major treatments – such as the replacement of crowns and bridge, implants, and dental surgery.
“Advance consultations and treatment options are required in almost all circumstances, as is appropriate and ongoing after-care,” says Keeping.
Similar concerns have been raised in Britain, the leading nation in dental tourism.
According to the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, patients who travel abroad for lower-cost dental work run the risk of suffering permanent damage to their teeth.
Unfortunately, such cases are often heard: with the shortages of dentists and big payments, Britons are driven into getting dental works from some other nations in Eastern Europe.
The concerns may seem odd, however, since the training for Eastern European dentists is almost the same as the British standard that the National Health Service imposes.
Even though their training is sufficient enough, as the number of people who are undertaken major treatments outside UK increase, so do the horror stories from patients full of regrets. This is the present condition of dental tourism in Europe.
“Foreign dental work is cheaper and quicker, so it is very tempting. But no one who knew the real risks would choose to take them,” Academy board member James Goolnik told the Observer, a British newspaper.