Why More Patients Are Smiling When They Leave India

Looking for Affordable Dental Veneers?

Lately, we’ve been hearing quite a bit about the lack of affordable health care in the United States, but truth be told, dental care in the United States may be in even worse shape.  Nearly half of American patients lack dental insurance.  Of the 50% who actually have insurance, their coverage may still be insufficient for the treatment they need. 

 

So far, dental insurance remains separate from and apparently unequal to overall health insurance.  Part of President Obama’s reform plan is to include coverage of dental treatment with general health insurance.  Ideally, this will provide American dental patients with a reason to look domestically for their affordable veneers and more.

 

Affordable Health Care in India

Until the US develops an affordable health care solution, the number of patients looking abroad for their dental veneers and other treatments will continue growing.  For example, India has created a draw for patients seeking affordable treatments like dental veneers or implants by combining affordability and quality dental care.  With so many baby boomers having greater needs for dental care and more disposable time in their retirement, including vacation packages to countries like India may be in the best interests of insurance companies.  Some providers are finding ways to lower their costs by adding variations of dental vacations to patients’ insurance coverage, which may prove to be a true win-win scenario for patients and providers.

 

Paying for Tour Indian Dental Care

Although typically dental tourists save between 30 and 70 percent on treatment abroad, most of us can’t just travel to India on a whim.  Some dental tourists make mini-vacations of their procedures; saving for months for the opportunity to flash their new veneers while exploring India’s culture.  Financing is one option to ease at least the immediate financial burden of your trip, but rather than the costs coming out of pocket, you’re billed…with interest.  The preference would be to have the insurance you’re already paying into cover your veneers in India, just as it would in the US.  As corporations expand globally, some have included medical and dental vacations as part of their insurance coverage for employees, sharing in the savings.  Until this becomes the norm; however, dental tourists will likely continue paying out of pocket as best they can for the savings they receive abroad.