Get a Million Dollar Smile on a Medical Vacation
Recently, UK media have been fascinated by the publication of a study by the Berlin University of Technology. The study, which was commissioned by the European Commission and published in the journal Health Economics, sought to compare the cost of dental care across Europe. For residents of the UK, the results of the study were a validation of their suffering: the UK has the most expensive dental care in Europe. The study tracked the price of a simple filling across the continent, reporting that behind the UK (€156), Italy (€135) and Spain (€125) were the most expensive. On the other end of the spectrum, the least expensive dental care was found in Poland (€18) and Hungary (€8).
Cut the Cost of Dental Veneers with Valuable Dental Tourism Advice
The survey comes out at a time of growing discontentment with dental care in the UK. Last year, the government admitted that two million people who sought NHS dental treatment were unable to receive any help. Private care can cost up to three times more than NHS treatment. Due to the lack of dentists, however, many Britons have had little choice but to submit to expensive private dentistry. Given the shocking price of a simple procedure, it is not surprising to hear that out of the 77,000 Britons who traveled on medical vacations in 2006, 43 percent received dental treatment abroad. The two most popular countries to visit on medical vacations to cut the cost of dental veneers, dental caps, or laser teeth whitening are Poland and Hungary.
Understanding the Appeal of a Medical Vacation
Keith Pollard, managing director of an agency who offers dental tourism advice, recently told the UK Independent newspaper that the number of medical tourism providers targeting dental treatment seekers is “phenomenal,” adding that of all aspects of the medical tourism industry in the UK, “dentistry is the biggest part of the business.” Pollard says that the reasons that dental tourism is such a popular option include the scarcity of NHS dentists and high prices in the UK.
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