September 8, 2016

Have you ever thought of getting dental work done overseas due to the significantly cheaper prices? Popular destinations include places like Thailand and Bali, but their cheap prices beg the question, why is it cheaper?

While most of the the top clinics in Asia offer a similar level of dental care and quality to the standard of Australia, their prices vary dramatically on procedures such as veneers, dental implants and fillings. But the materials they use are NOT the same!

Have you heard about The White Bite? Affordable dental holidays on the Gold Coast!

Coastal Dental Care and The White Bite believe in only using the best quality products which will provide the best outcome for our patients’ needs. While this methodology may not be the cheapest, we believe that the quality of your care and dental longevity is more important in the long run than cost. Moreover, most of the top rated dental materials have similar costs throughout the world. Clinics which offer incredibly cheap dentistry have to cut their costs somehow; be this through poor equipment, using off-brand or less quality materials, or even utilising lesser-trained staff.

While it may not seem like a big deal to no use name brand materials in dental procedures, there are actually some serious problems associated with this.

Problem one: Oftentimes the material doesn’t function as well or in the same function as the real product.

Problem two: Problem one often leads to dysfunction or discomfort, resulting in the need for replacements, or significant work to “fix” the problem. Sometimes, getting these repairs or replacements done later can be very difficult. Most dental treatments aren’t easily reversible, if at all, which means considerable time must be invested in further dental treatment. As you can imagine, this is quite costly, and sometimes nothing at all can be done.

Problem three: Another concern is the shortened time frame these overseas procedures are completed in. There are strict and absolute health and safety guidelines in Australia which all dentists must abide by to keep our patients safe and healthy. For example, for dental implants procedures, shortening the treatment time frame significantly increases the risk of complications which can be tricky and expensive to fix.

We hate seeing any cases like this but they are more common than you think thanks to the allure of cheap overseas dental holidays. While we can’t ignore the many success stories of people who’ve travelled to Asia for dental treatment and had great outcomes, there are many cases of people who have had horrible outcomes.

Some of the horror stories we’ve personally seen:

The patient who went for implant retained dentures – an infection deteriorated all the bone around the implants within three months after the implant surgery. The bone was so damaged that it was impossible to put new implants in.

The patient who went for veneers – After just 6 months the veneers needed to be redone because the cheap imitation material used had started to crumble away.

The patient who went for a mouthful of crowns – After their treatment was completed, there were gaps left between every tooth, but there was no time to make new crowns. Instead, they were cemented in place and the patient was told to ‘seek treatment to fix it when you get home.’ This “easy fix” actually involved replacing all the crowns that had already been cemented.

Although it may seem cheaper and more relaxing to take an overseas ‘dental holiday,’ please remember that you might be gambling with your teeth, your appearance, and your health. Not to mention the added costs you may face if you have to fix rushed or poorly done dental work.

Risk-free dental holidays with The White Bite

Our partners at The White Bite, in Emerald Lakes, offer dental holidays in the relaxing French Quarter of the Gold Coast. The team here can offer prices which are truly competitive with the top clinics in Asia, while using top grade products and Australian trained staff, all without the risks. Contact The White Bite for more information on dental procedures and their competitive rates.