By definition,
dental tourism is exactly what it sounds like: it’s a combination of dental treatment and tourism. So basically, you come to Poland, sight-see, rest and relax, and at the same time, you take advantage of the dental services provided by the country’s dental professionals. And since many of the most popular clinics are in places visitors want to see anyway – such as Kraków, Gdańsk and Warsaw, as well as Szczecin (which is close to Berlin) – the combination of teeth and travel that may, at first glance, seem to be incompatible does actually make sense.
In the top three Just how many people are travelling outside of the UK for
dental treatment? (...), ‘In 2006, PLN 200 million (approximately £47 million) was spent in Polish private clinics by patients from outside Poland (source: Gazetta Prawna), and this number is set to rise as more and more patients become aware of the benefits of travelling to Poland for dental and medical treatment.’ She adds that ‘it’s estimated that 70,000 patients from the United Kingdom travelled abroad for dental or medical treatment in 2006 (source, International Passenger Survey 2007).’ It’s worth pointing out, though, that people from the UK are not alone in their desire to get their teeth fixed
abroad: Dental Implantology Clinic (...) in Szczecin tells me that the clinic is visited by patients from the UK, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. In fact, foreign patients constitute nearly one half of this particular clinic’s patients, so they treat about 1,500 foreign patients a year. Although it is difficult to get hard numbers for just how many of the 70,000 people tallied by the International Passenger Survey were here last year specifically for their teeth – as opposed to being here for hip replacements, or tummy tucks, or nose jobs, or breast enhancements, or medical spa treatments for cardiac or respiratory illnesses – all reliable sources on the subject agree that dental tourism is far and away the most popular type of medical and cosmetic service currently being offered, making Poland one of the world’s preferred destinations to get dental work done. In fact, the top three ranked and most popular places in the world to get dental work are Thailand, Hungary and Poland. Of the three countries mentioned, Poland may perhaps be considered the least exotic, but for dental tourists from the UK, it is by far the most convenient – and the most costeffective – to reach. And since a large reason to come to Poland to get dental work is the cost-savings, then Poland’s accessibility from the UK is a major factor in its favour. After all, with over 500 flights a week from various points in the UK to all over Poland, and with budget airlines offering cheap flights every day of the week, simply getting here from there is not a challenge in the slightest.
Just how much do you save?I asked a number of professionals working in the private dental field in Poland to provide price lists for some routine treatments, and then compared their prices with those of the same dental service in the UK. Dental Implantology Clinic (...) – which, in 2006, was placed 3rd in Newsweek’s ranking of the best implantology centers in Poland – told me that most dental treatments performed in Poland cost around one third of what they cost in the UK. Few example, a
root canal treatment (per canal) in the UK is about £300; in Poland it’s around £90 per canal. In the UK, one tooth implant is a staggering £2,200, while in Poland, it will set you back around £800. In the UK, one porcelaincrown is about £650; in Poland, it is a much more pleasant £150. One tooth extraction in the UK is around £95, in Poland it’s a bit more than half that, coming in at about £40. And finally, for a routine
teeth whitening session, it will cost you around £800 in the UK, but a mere £250 in Poland’s dental clinics.
A recent article about dental tourism in Poland in consumer magazine which stated that tourists are apparently saving an average of £3,745 on their dental treatment, in a single visit, since most dental tourists to Poland come to get extensive work done, rather than a single or minor procedure. The magazine went on to say that, ‘The typical value of overseas dental treatments...was £2,200 before travel costs. The same treatment (in England) would cost around £5,945.’ The magazine’s findings were supported by RevaHealth chief executive Caelen King, who said: “There are many good reasons why people are deciding to travel abroad, including long waiting lists and the potential for massive cost savings.” Indeed, long waiting lists for NHS treatment is a major factor in peoples’ decision to leave the UK for dental, medical and cosmetic services. He wrote that ‘More than a million patients cannot get an appointment for their teeth on the NHS’ and that ‘Around 500 (English) dentists left the service in one year after the Government botched the introduction of a new contract’, adding to the strain on the dental community to provide timely service and treatment for patients in England. Compare this to the waiting time in Poland: all private clinics contacted for the purpose of this article told me that patients must contact them – via phone or e-mail – about one week in advance.
Dental Implantology Clinic (...) added that the planning of all treatments is always preceded by a precise diagnoses with the dental technicians and dentists; this is a highly personalised examination, consisting of x-rays – to establish a successful treatment plan. The manager of Dental Implantology Clinic (...) told me that it is routine that, within about an hour of the end of the consultation, the clinic presents the patient with a complete treatment plan based on the examination, evaluation and diagnosis, and to save the patient’s time and loss of salary, as well as to minimise travel expenses, the clinic start treatment soon after the consultation. This type of experience was actually written about in a recent article in Kieran Fagan, in the May 27, 2008 Irish Times, in an article entitled ‘And then to crown it all...’ in which Mr. Fagan was told by his dentist in Dublin that he needed six top front teeth crowned, including bridging a missing one. The bridging work alone would be about €2,000-€3,000, but a specialist would need to do root canal treatment for two others (an additional €1,600) and yet another specialist would need to extract a tooth with a deformed root, which would add another €1,000 or so to the total. So, Mr. Fagan was facing something like €5,000 for treatment, plus about half-a-dozen visits to three different dentists. Oh, and when he called the dentist just over a week before Christmas, in panic and in pain, he was offered an appointment on January 7th. That was the last straw, and despite the repeated and dire warnings from his nearest and dearest, as well as the Irish dentists, that dentistry in Eastern Europe was embarked upon only by the insane, he booked himself a flight on Aer Lingus to Berlin, where he – and other medical tourists from the UK – were met by a mini-coach, which took them across the border to Szczecin in western Poland. The very next morning, Mr. Fagan was picked up (at his hotel) by his Polish dentist, Dr. Michał Wiklinski. Interestingly, Mr. Fagan was surprised to hear that Dr. Wikilinski did not agree with the Irish diagnosis of root canal treatment for two back teeth, but he did say that a different back tooth actually did require treatment. He also believed that the tooth the dentist in Dublin wanted to extract could be saved; the dentist gave Mr. Fagan a number of options for what he wanted to do next, and was open to working within the journalist’s budget. This discussion was not held in a dentist’s chair, but over a desk. In the article, Mr. Fagan writes that, ‘We were having a detailed negotiation, lasting 20-30 minutes about what I needed, and how much I was prepared to pay.’ He adds that by 11:00 that same day, he was in the dentist’s chair and by 1:30 that afternoon, he was in a taxi, going back to the hotel – all the major work done and the site prepared for a return visit the next morning. A third visit on the fourth day competed all the work required – and Mr. Fagan paid just under €2,700 for his completed dental services. Not only did he save money, though, he saved time: all the work was done under a single roof, over a total of four days... adding to the cost-effectiveness of the entire procedure.
Here are some of the price differences quoted by Mr. Fagan, which applied to him: a six unit bridge porcelain fused to metal in Poland costs €1,170, while a bridge fused to gold costs €1,920; in Ireland, a six unit bridge (of unspecified quality) sets you back €2,500. His root
canal treatment in Dublin would have cost €800, but in Poland, it will cost between €80-€200, depending on individual need.
Risks and realitiesSure, saving money is great, but what’s the point if the work is shoddy, the clinic is filthy and unhygienic, you don’t understand what’s going on because nobody speaks English, and you have no outlet or recourse if things go wrong afterwards? These concerns are legitimate, and they have been brought up many times, by UK professionals, such as Peter Ward, chief executive of the British Dental Association, who was quoted as saying that, “Perhaps people should look beyond the economic reasons for going abroad (for dental and medical treatment) and make sure
the level of service they are getting is comparable with the UK.” His sentiments were echoed by Frances Blunden, who said, “People should go into this with their eyes wide open. They need to be mindful of what would happen if they needed follow-up treatment. They could end up having to pay twice over. And it will be very hard to complain.” Spurred on by such statements, I checked out just how good the service really is; after all, as the famous expression goes, ‘When you pay peanuts, you get monkeys’. Is this the case in Poland? Happily (and with no bias whatsoever, I promise), I am able to report that – based on research, follow-up with UK citizens who have used the serviecs of Polish private dentists, and my friends here in Warsaw who have had family members and friends come over from Germany, France, the UK and Canada to have work done – the standard and quality of dental care in Poland is absolutely excellent, and in almost every case I heard personally, it supercedes the level of service that people felt they would have received back home. But why is this? First, Polish dentists are (despite the fear-mongering by many UK professionals) very well-trained individuals. Dental education in Poland comprises of five years of study, with the final two years involving training under the supervision of experienced
dental professionals. Additionally, even once they have graduated, dentists must gain a certain number of points each year in order to be able to practice, by attending accredited post graduate courses...so in Poland, the education of dentists does not just stop upon receipt of a diploma. For example, in Dental Implantology Clinic (...), all the dental professionals working there are subject to ongoing training and development; staff are constantly improving their skills, both in Poland and abroad. Further to the safety and control issue: the registration and permit conditions to practice are very stringent: all dentists must be registered with The Polish Chamber of Physicians and Dentists in order to legally practice dentistry in Poland, and they must appear before a commission to obtain the permit to practice. This permit must be renewed every five years. Part of the education of dentists in Poland is a language education: it’s really in their own best interests to speak at least English and German, and so I have yet to come across a dentist in Warsaw who does not speak good English. Also, all the private clinics I contacted for this article assured me that all patients from abroad are assigned a dentist and/or assistant in the clinic who is fluent in the patient’s preferred langauge; this is to ensure real peace of mind and the confidence that you really understand what is going on with your own mouth. The issue of hygiene is absolutely crucial, as well, as it must be whenever thinking about any kind of surgery or medical treatment.
Again, all research for this article has led me to conclude that Polish
dental clinics are very safe places to get work done: in fact, the safety regulations and control of infection in the private dental clinics are very strict. In his article, Mr. Fagan expressly wrote that he could see absolutely no drop in standard between his dentist’s cabinet in Dublin and Dr. Wikilinski’s clinic in Szczecin. And Poland’s private clinics use the same branded materials and equipment that are used in Germany and the UK, meaning that the standards are world-class. Finally – and quite possibly, most importantly – what provisions are in place for follow-up care, and guarantees of work? It is here that differences between individual clinics do indeed start to appear, and so before booking any treatment and getting on the plane, do ask for a clearly-worded (or better yet, written) explanation of the clinic’s policy on this matter. Some clinics offer a three-year guarantee, some (...) offer a five year guarantee on prosthetic work and ten years on
implants. Again, it must be stressed that there is no ‘blanket’ policy, so this is one aspect of your treatment which you must be sure to ask about, and be sure you understand before getting under the drill. All in all, then, a trip to Poland to get some dental work done is a very cost-effective, safe and comfortable experience – and just think: you can get some sight-seeing in between your root canal and cleaning. The country is stunningly beautiful, and so do arrange for a few extra days’ stay, if at all possible, to enjoy and discover Poland
Source: fragments of article 'Big Smiles' by Michelle Smith, Discover Poland Magazine, Issue 4, July 2008,
