Despite Desperation, Patients Want to Know, “Is Dental Tourism Dangerous?”

Is Dental Tourism Dangerous?

It’s no surprise that medical and dental tourism took a hit, because of last year’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai.  People want to save money, but aren’t ready to compromise safety for affordable health care.  Affordable cosmetic procedures like dental crowns or facelifts may have been the hardest hit by the declining tourism.  Many patients are unwilling to accept the risk of being caught in a hostile situation where personal injury or loss of life may hang in the balance.  Medical tourism patients and travelers alike want assurance they’ll be safe when traveling abroad.

Will the “Change We Need” Include Affordable Health Care?

Newly elected President Obama made affordable health care part of his campaign platform and reiterated his charge during his inauguration speeches.  Depending on the source, the number of uninsured US citizens fluctuates between 45-47 million.  Give or take a couple million, the number of people with limited access to care is still within 15% of the country’s population, not counting millions more who are underinsured.  Even the “fortunate” patients with insurance are hard-pressed to find deductibles and costs that yield truly affordable dental health care.  For some coverage plans, the premiums alone cost more than it would to take a medical or dental vacation.

Mexico, Safety Conundrum for Affordable Health Care Seekers

Some patients’ searches for affordable dental crowns and other dental work are leading them to Mexico.  One patient chipped a tooth while eating and literally a day later, went to Tijuana for a dental vacation.  While there, he noticed there were other US patients, as well as patients from other countries looking for the same affordable health care as he.  Andy knew these “vacations” made dental care more affordable, but after getting eight fillings, a dental crown for the chipped tooth (consisting of a root canal, post, and crown), he was shocked to pay less than $1,500. 

Other Mexican cities, however, may not have the same value when patients factor in safety.  According to some reports, the city of Juarez is responsible for a third of the 3,000 people killed in Mexico by drug-related violence this year.  At a rate of almost 3 killed every day in the city across the US-Mexico border from El Paso, TX, the US State Department has issued a travel advisory informing US travelers to be aware of the extremely high crime threats.  Whether you’re just trying to save a buck, or medical tourism seems to be your only alternative for affordable health care, your safety needs to be factored into the costs.

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