Everyone wants the perfect smile but it is the case that most people will need to visit the dentist during their life for some problem or other. This can often be daunting for many reasons, but for some the cost of dentistry is a real issue. The end result, however, is always worth it.

As an alternative many people are now choosing to go abroad to have their teeth fixed, and with medical tourism on the rise and around 26,000 people from Britain flying out to undergo dental procedures each year, there are some pros and cons of going abroad that you should be made aware of:

Pros:

• The first positive about dental tourism is the cost of the treatment. You can get treatment that would cost a lot more money in the UK done for much cheaper, sometimes even 70% cheaper.

• There are a number of dentists working abroad that are registered as part of the British General Dental Council (GDC), so they are part of the British Dental Care system.

• If they are part of the GDC then you can check their registration number in the UK before going ahead with the treatment, just so you can be sure of everything.

• The aftercare is usually cheaper and there are dental practices that operate in the UK and abroad who tend to offer better prices in the UK as well. So that could work out even better for you.

There is a downside to everything, so here are the cons.

Cons:

• Some of the dental equipment used abroad may not be of an adequate quality.

• If there are problems when you return home it may cost you more money than you saved by going abroad, so this could work out to be a major problem if you’re low on cash.

• You may need to make several trips if the treatment requires more than one procedure, or repeat visits, thus costing you an extensive amount of money in travel.

• Some dental work can’t be guaranteed in some countries, so check before.

• If you are only having a small treatment the price of travel and hotel, etc. may end up costing you more money in the long run.

So if you are thinking about going abroad for dental treatment just make sure you’ve thought it all through, otherwise you could be left with a lot of problems and a huge amount of debt.