Dental tourism means travelling abroad for affordable dental treatment, which includes dental implants, dental veneers and laminates, teeth restorations, if they are expensive in one’s own country. Dental tourism in India enables international patients to save money on dental treatment while touring India.
The 21st century is witnessing a boom in dental disease due to remarkable changes in the dietary habits. The awareness towards dental health is also increasing at an equal pace. But, finding appropriate solutions to the dental problems have become a challenge because of the expenses involved and due to uncompromising working hours of the dentists as well as the patients. People wish to get rid of their oral problems with minimal expenditure, within the limited time frame while giving importance to the quality of the care.
Even though countries like USA and UK provide dental insurance to most citizens, it comes with a lot of loopholes. Most of the insurance providers in the USA pay only for 30% of the treatment cost. Whereas, in the UK the health insurance covers 100% cost but is associated with long waiting time.
Process Flow
- Travelers either contact tour operators or surgeon directly to fix their appointments for consultation and treatment.
- Tour operators arrange all the documents & facilitate the trip.
- A traveler visits the tourist country & undergoes the treatment.
- Post-treatment, the tour operator organizes the trip of their choice & provide all the facilities.
- Traveler leaves the country and remains in contact with the dentist for follow up.
The advantages of opting for dental treatment in India include:
- India with its large pool of highly qualified, skilled dental professionals is a hub for a multitude of dental services. The quality dental services can be available at 1/10th of the cost of services in the western world.
- Comfort level: English speaking doctors & paramedics are available. Translators for most languages are present in India and can help develop an understanding between the patient and the dentist.
- Less waiting time: It is possible due to the availability of more number of qualified professionals. Travel agents or dentists themselves could fix prior appointments for the tourist prior to their trip resulting in less waiting time.
- Improved sterilization techniques: The sterilization protocol followed in India is at par with the international standards and this results in carrying out all dental treatments in a microbe-free environment.
- Lower Medication cost: The cost of medicines in India is less due to the strong pharmaceutical sector which is gaining world recognition due to no import duty.
- Tourist interest: India has a 5000 years old civilization and has innumerable places of tourist interest across the length and breadth of the country. The rich and varied culture and geographical variation across India make it an interesting place to visit.
| S.No | Treatment | No. of Visits | Charges in India ($) | Charges in the USA($) |
| 1 | Consultation | 10 | 50 | |
| 2 | Full Mouth X-Ray | 1 | 15 | 50 |
| 3 | Bleaching | 1 | 100 | 500 |
| 4 | Single Implant With Metal Ceramic Crown | 1 | 600 | 4000 |
| 5 | Single All Ceramic Crown | 3 | 200 | 200 |
| 6 | Single Implant With All Ceramic Crown | 3 | 800 | 5000 |
| 7 | RCT-Front Tooth | 3-4 | 100 | 1000 |
| 8 | RCT-Bicuspid | 3-4 | 100 | 1000 |
| 9 | RCT-Molar | 3-4 | 100 | 1000 |
| 10 | Filling-Tooth Coloured | 1 | 20-30 (depends on size) | 400 |
| 11 | Upper & Lower Complete Dentures | 8 | 500 | 1200 |
| 12 | Perio Scaling & Root Planing | 2 | 40 | 300 |
| 13 | Single Tooth Removal-Surgical | 1 | 50 | 1000 |
| 14 | Tooth Extraction (Simple) | 1 | 20 | 100 |
| 15 | Smile Designing (Anterior 6 Teeth) With Laminates | 3-4 | 1300 | 8000 |
| 16 | Porcelain Laminates (Veneers) (Single) | 2 | 180 | 1200 |
| 17 | Invisalign Treatment | Multiple | 2500-3000 | 3500-8000 |
| 19 | Pit & Fissure Sealants (Per Tooth) | 2 | 10 | 150 |
| Single Flexible Denture | 2 | 100-200 (depends on case) | 1200 | |
| 21 | Post & Core Build Up (Per Tooth) | 1 | 40 | 200 |
| 22 | Topical Fluoride Application | 3 | 100 | 300 |
| 23 | Dental Jewellery | 1 | 100 | 300 |
| 24 | Flap Surgery With Bone Grafting (Full Mouth) | 1 | 1000 | 5000 |
| 25 | Porcelain Metal Crown (3 units) | 3 | 250 | 2500 |
| 26 | Metal Free Crown (3 units) | 3 | 650 | 4000 |