What Are the Pros and Cons of an Overseas Dental Holiday?

Thinking about a dental holiday? Let’s go through some pros and cons together!

Hi, it’s Dr Michael Ghobrial here from Sure Dental. I recently went to one of my cousin’s wedding, and caught up with a cousin who I haven’t seen for a long time. She has been living overseas as an air hostess for a few years and she decided while she was on holidays to get a cosmetic makeover for her teeth. Now my cousin had a bit of crowding on her teeth and she had dental veneers placed while she was on holidays. After she had these dental veneers placed, her teeth were aching because it sounds like they were too aggressively prepared. The dentist kindly went ahead and did 20 root canal treatments on her teeth in a matter of a couple of hours.

Fast forward two years, my cousin finally walked into my office, but unfortunately, her front tooth was actually in her hand. She had lost her front tooth and she had quite a few other teeth about to go as well. And you know, I often get asked, “Michael, should I go get my dental treatment done overseas? Should I get my cosmetic makeover there? Should I go on a dental holiday?” And I guess I wanted to share a little bit of this story to help you understand some of the pros and cons of getting this sort of procedure done overseas.

The pros are, you know what, it is cheaper. Absolutely. In the short term anyway. And also you get a holiday as well so it can seem like a win-win and things get done very, very quickly and so that can be a win as well. 

The cons though can be significant. It is hard enough to choose good quality providers here in Australia, let alone in a country that you don’t know. The quality of treatment is very variable and in my cousin’s case, the quality of treatment was horrendous and it has cost her her teeth.

Here at Sure Dental, we take time to do procedures well. There’s a reason we take time and that is to make sure it’s long-lasting and what’s done is conservative of your tooth structure. The other issue is what do you do when things don’t go well? What do you do on follow up? You know, was my cousin to go back again after the 20 root canals? Would you trust them to fix the problem?

The other issue as well is infection control. Here in Australia, we follow really strict infection control guidelines and procedures. We are an accredited practice here at Sure Dental, so we go above and beyond to make sure that is a safe environment for our patients. And there is a question mark as to the quality of infection control when you go overseas. 

So I want to encourage you to think through the pros and cons deeply before going ahead with a dental holiday … Just book a holiday, keep the dental out of it. 

If you are based in Brisbane and are considering upgrading your smile, and want to talk to a an expert opinion, why not organise a complimentary smile assessment with us here at Sure Dental. We have plenty of free parking and a lot of amenities to make you comfortable.

Just give us a call on 07 32569111 or visit our website at suredental.com.au and fill in the enquiry form and we will be in touch to organise this for you.