Despite epic thread on Hungary, would like to hear patient feedback

crystallamp

Hi there,

I found this forum through googling reviews for a couple of clinics in Hungary. The most recent epic thread going back years was quite the read but from what I could see on it, it was full of Irish dentists providing anecdotal negative feedback, which I can't help wonder is fed by a loss of business for them.

Perhaps I'm clinging onto the possibility that there are some success stories out there? I really want to have my teeth look better. They are such an embarrassment. I can't afford to have it done here, no where near afford it. What other choice do I have? Do I continue on being embarrassed or do I go abroad and have what looks to be 10 crowns done?

I've read every post from the dentists bashing the work but I'd love some feedback from any posters who have actually been and had the surgery done and can give first hand accounts.

I half suspect that there will be some rule break here and the post locked or deleted as it appears that all the mods are Irish dentists.

Thank you!

Edit; can i just ask for no smart arse replies about me considering this. I can't stress enough how much my teeth affect my confidence and self esteem and I'm a bit fragile about it all. I only have a a few bob saved for this. Im not entitled to medical card.

crystallamp

Thank you for your reply Davos but what I really want is actual patient feedback. I have had a consultation from one clinic already and experienced a hard sell. Put me off a bit but the prospect of being able to smile again is drawing me back to them.

Also a lot of the mentions in other post go back a couple of years so I'm looking for recent feedback please.

simplybam

Went to Mumbai (India) couple years ago for dental treatment. Got a couple weeks holiday out of it and saved a bundle (even considering flights, hotel, etc.)

No issues whatsoever since - everything's perfect.

If you're interested I can pm you details of the clinic I went to.

Dianthus

OP, your first step should be to research exactly what you need. Only then can you make an accurate comparison between ROI & Hungary.
If you were buying a car, you'd shop around, the same applies here.
All you will need is a checkup& xrays, in order to be provided with a treatment plan & estimate. You can bring copies of these X-rays to a 2nd or 3rd dentist if you wish,& get different opinions& quotes. The whole process should not cost more than €150,& would be money well spent if you're talking about spending 10 times or more, that amount.

crystallamp

simplybam wrote: »

Went to Mumbai (India) couple years ago for dental treatment. Got a couple weeks holiday out of it and saved a bundle (even considering flights, hotel, etc.)

No issues whatsoever since - everything's perfect.

If you're interested I can pm you details of the clinic I went to.

Thanks for that. Mumbai a little too far for me. Plan to stick to EU. But thank you so much for response.

crystallamp

Dianthus wrote: »

OP, your first step should be to research exactly what you need. Only then can you make an accurate comparison between ROI & Hungary.
If you were buying a car, you'd shop around, the same applies here.
All you will need is a checkup& xrays, in order to be provided with a treatment plan & estimate. You can bring copies of these X-rays to a 2nd or 3rd dentist if you wish,& get different opinions& quotes. The whole process should not cost more than €150,& would be money well spent if you're talking about spending 10 times or more, that amount.

Thank you! You're right & this is part of my plan. I have my x ray. Received quote from irish dentist for "maintenance" work to my teeth but my smile wouldnt change. That why I'm drawn to Hungary.

I've had extensive work done in N.Ireland ten years ago and it's all looking tired, ugly & mismatched.

Dianthus

[quote="crystallamp;Received quote from irish dentist for "maintenance" work to my teeth but my smile wouldnt change. That why I'm drawn to Hungary.
.[/quote]
What sort of maintenance work?
Did you ask for a quote for the cosmetic work?

crystallamp

Dianthus wrote: »

What sort of maintenance work?
Did you ask for a quote for the cosmetic work?

Replacement of mercury fillings. A couple of replacement crowns.

The plan in Hungary is to crown nearly everything possible and whiten others. I can't afford to have it all done in one go so would plan on doing it in stages.

I didn't get quote for this level of work in Ireland.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

some patients will have good treatment some will have bad. Its a roll of the dice. Overtreatment is ramapnt and lack of attention to detail in treatment planning and workmanship is rampant from what I have seen. My practice is busier retreating some of these case. OP its a roll of the dice, and a large number of my retreatment cases are from large, heavily marketed clinics in eastern europe.

8:30 am this morning this man dental tourism 4 years ago. Total mess. Maybe 25k to fix properly. Gross over treatment, poor treatment planning, rushed treatment, lack of workmanship and several chronic infections. Enture lower bridge very loose and painful. Has looked like total **** from day one.

A picture tells a thousand words

crystallamp

Thank you for reply but once again I'm looking for actual patient feedback and not dentists.

I can't help but believe that you are unlikely to post pics and stories of positive dental work from Hungary you have encountered as it's not beneficial for you to do so.

Furthermore, can you not tell from my post how desperate I am? I can't afford Irish prices. I don't want to schlep all over Europe on my own to get this done. I would much prefer to go to a Dublin one but it's not possible.

Dianthus

crystallamp wrote: »

Furthermore, can you not tell from my post how desperate I am? I can't afford Irish prices. I don't want to schlep all over Europe on my own to get this done. I would much prefer to go to a Dublin one but it's not possible.

It's precisely because of this desperation to have treatment, that posters are urging caution, so that you're not blind-sided by the lure of a bargain. This would apply equally to ROI or Hungary, which is why I advised having 2-3 consults with different practitioners. It's not realistic to request only positive patient reviews, absolutely no dentist anywhere has a 100% success rate.
What is your budget OP?
Can you post a photo of your teeth in their current state?

crystallamp

Dianthus wrote: »

It's precisely because of this desperation to have treatment, that posters are urging caution, so that you're not blind-sided by the lure of a bargain. This would apply equally to ROI or Hungary, which is why I advised having 2-3 consults with different practitioners. It's not realistic to request only positive patient reviews, absolutely no dentist anywhere has a 100% success rate.
What is your budget OP?
Can you post a photo of your teeth in their current state?

I'm not looking for only positive reviews I'm looking for actual patient reviews!

My savings are €2200. Like I said, I don't have the money to pay to have my whole mouth done.

I can't post pics because I'm a new poster it says.

(Edit - tried to post photo of teeth and xray)

Oral Surgeon

OP,
You can not come onto an internet forum asking for and expecting unbiased advice. Everyone here has some reason why they would bother taking the time to read and post a reply...

You ask for positive reviews of dental tourism and you get this;
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056526627&page=7
The poster posed as a happy patient but was later outed as a sales rep for a dental clinic abroad. That rep also stole clinical photos off my and my colleague's (Fitzgeme) website and pretended that it was their work.

You say that you don't want a load of dentists on bashing the idea of going abroad as we are afraid of losing work. As previously posted, the actual number of patients going abroad for extensive work is small. If those patients can't afford to have treatment done correctly and choose to have it done cheaper elsewhere, then we never lost that patient as they never really could have it done here anyway.

What I "lose" in patients to dental tourism I get back again in multiples by retreating the failed cases. I as an Irish oral surgeon actually get more work out of dental tourism...! But yet, I bash dental tourism... why?? Because it is a shame that someone pays €10k elsewhere and then pays €25k later to have it fixed when €20k here would have done the job from the start....

To be clear, foreign dentistry is not the same as dental tourism.
Is all foreign dentistry bad- definitely no. Dental tourism is where you get maximum treatment in minimum time to minimise the flight and hotel expense and make it cheaper than Ireland. If you were to have the job spaced correctly, the additional flight and hotel expense would make it uneconomical. Hungarian people in Hungary may have large scale treatments at home but they don't have it all done in 3 days like the Irish tourists......

OS

crystallamp

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

OP,
You can not come onto an internet forum asking for and expecting unbiased advice. Everyone here has some reason why they would bother taking the time to read and post a reply...

OS

I respect you're a surgeon and I thank you for your reply but for someone who is clearly educated and professional it is hard to understand why you didn't read my actual post before replying or else chose to ignore what I'm asking for here.

I said I read the original thread which you have linked so I am aware of its content and nowhere did I say I only wanted positive reviews I have repeatedly asked for ACTUAL PATIENT FEEDBACK.

Dianthus

OP, even for Hungary, €2200 for 10 crowns, whitening, flights, accommodation is going to be a tall order.
The average lifespan of a crown is 10-15 years. You have some crowns already which you want replacing& can't afford to. If you get lots of crowns on other teeth, will you be able to afford to replace them in 10 years time? Will you be able to afford corrective treatment *if* anything goes wrong?
You need a financial "cushion" to maintain heavily restored teeth; it's a life-long cost, not a once-off thing.
Patients might PM you instead; this thread looks a bit daunting for them to post in

crystallamp

Dianthus wrote: »

OP, even for Hungary, €2200 for 10 crowns, whitening, flights, accommodation is going to be a tall order.
The average lifespan of a crown is 10-15 years. You have some crowns already which you want replacing& can't afford to. If you get lots of crowns on other teeth, will you be able to afford to replace them in 10 years time? Will you be able to afford corrective treatment *if* anything goes wrong?
You need a financial "cushion" to maintain heavily restored teeth; it's a life-long cost, not a once-off thing.
Patients might PM you instead; this thread looks a bit daunting for them to post in

That's a good point and not one I had considered thanks. However, all the work that needs doing to my teeth is continuing work from Irish dentists so really no matter whether it's done abroad or at home, I will have future costs to consider.

My €2k savings is all I have for now but as I said I'm not getting all my work done in one go. I couldn't afford that. I'll continue to save.

Oral Surgeon

crystallamp wrote: »

I respect you're a surgeon and I thank you for your reply but for someone who is clearly educated and professional it is hard to understand why you didn't read my actual post before replying or else chose to ignore what I'm asking for here.

I said I read the original thread which you have linked so I am aware of its content and nowhere did I say I only wanted positive reviews I have repeatedly asked for ACTUAL PATIENT FEEDBACK.

The problem is that you have no way of telling who is a happy patient or a foreign clinic sales rep shilling a clinic and indeed no way of telling who is an unhappy patient or an Irish dentist bashing dental tourism. So asking for ACTUAL PATIENT FEEDBACK is naive.

crystallamp

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

The problem is that you have no way of telling who is a happy patient or a foreign clinic sales rep shilling a clinic and indeed no way of telling who is an unhappy patient or an Irish dentist bashing dental tourism. So asking for ACTUAL PATIENT FEEDBACK is naive.

If this is how you treat your patients, by railroading your opinions rather than listening to what they actually want and are asking for....I'm quite happy to take advice from elsewhere.

daveohdave

The protectionisn by Irish dentists in here is an embarrassment. The OP's request was crystal clear andv they've reiterated it more than once, would ye ever feck off and have a bit of respect?

OP, I'd be asking the mods to remove the OT posts here, they're detracting from your (entirely reasonable) thread. You may need to go to a supermod to get it done, given history here.

Good luck with your efforts. And no, dentists, I'm not a dentist, or a rep, or anything else like that.

crystallamp

daveohdave wrote: »

The protectionisn by Irish dentists in here is an embarrassment. The OP's request was crystal clear andv they've reiterated it more than once, would ye ever feck off and have a bit of respect?

OP, I'd be asking the mods to remove the OT posts here, they're detracting from your (entirely reasonable) thread. You may need to go to a supermod to get it done, given history here.

Good luck with your efforts. And no, dentists, I'm not a dentist, or a rep, or anything else like that.

Thank you!!!!

I'd nearly prefer to leave the posts as they are. As you say, it's an embarrassment but it's what has happened and should remain.

Crimsonforce

whilst i did not have any work done, three of my family did.
One was quite serious and was there for two weeks whilst getting work done
just 20 Zirconium Crowns

they are all quite pleased with the work.. They also used there tax credits to clain their 20% back here..

PS THEY HAD ALL THERE WORK DONE IN THE TOWN OF Debrecen

crystallamp

Crimsonforce wrote: »

whilst i did not have any work done, three of my family did.
One was quite serious and was there for two weeks whilst getting work done
just 20 Zirconium Crowns

they are all quite pleased with the work.. They also used there tax credits to clain their 20% back here..

Was hoping to get the Zirconium crowns! They look fab on pics I had seen. Thank you so much for replying. A little bit on anxiety has dissipated. Had read that about the tax relief too.

Oral Surgeon

crystallamp wrote: »

If this is how you treat your patients, by railroading your opinions rather than listening to what they actually want and are asking for....I'm quite happy to take advice from elsewhere.

I'm railroading nothing. The truth may hurt but it remains the truth. I have seen lots of dental tourism patients. Sure I see those who have failed treatment and not those who are happy but it is representative of the speedy work done.

You, like most dental tourism patients want to reinforce the decision that you have already made....

crystallamp

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

I'm railroading nothing. The truth may hurt but it remains the truth. I have seen lots of dental tourism patients. Sure I see those who have failed treatment and not those who are happy but it is representative of the speedy work done.

You, like most dental tourism patients want to reinforce the decision that you have already made....

And you like most Irish dentists want to reinforce the notion that dental tourism is wrong.

Oral Surgeon

crystallamp wrote: »

And you like most Irish dentists want to reinforce the notion that dental tourism is wrong.

yes it is....

Oral Surgeon

daveohdave wrote: »

The protectionisn by Irish dentists in here is an embarrassment. The OP's request was crystal clear andv they've reiterated it more than once, would ye ever feck off and have a bit of respect?

OP, I'd be asking the mods to remove the OT posts here, they're detracting from your (entirely reasonable) thread. You may need to go to a supermod to get it done, given history here.

Good luck with your efforts. And no, dentists, I'm not a dentist, or a rep, or anything else like that.

Protectionism of what?? My practice or patients??

My practice is busy as it is. The op has stated like most dental tourists that he/she does not have the money for treatment here. I stand to gain nothing by the op having treatment abroad as he/she was never able to have treatment with me to begin with.....

Why do I advise patients against dental tourism? Because I have seen too many patients spend the little money they have on a rushed and substandard job and then have no money left to fix it when it all falls apart....

Argue with me all you want, it makes no difference to me. My advice is in the best interest of others....

btkm8unsl0w5r4

The photos I posted before? What advice should that man have had in 2008 before when got that job done? What advice would you have given him?

Case 2 : 6 Zirconia Crowns upper front teeth. Replaced cause they looked rubbish and fit poorly causing recession. What advice would you have given her before the first job?





OS stop giving this advice, your going to take my business away.

crystallamp

Lucian Tiny Mussel wrote: »

The photos I posted before? What advice should that man have had in 2008 before when got that job done? What advice would you have given him?

Case 2 : 6 Zirconia Crowns upper front teeth. Replaced cause they looked rubbish and fit poorly causing recession. What advice would you have given

OS stop giving this advice, your going to take my business away.

I'm glad you find this all so amusing. Posting dodgy pictures and making fun of my situation

You're supposed to be a professional. I have stated on this post I'm fragile and very low about my teeth and self esteem.

I didn't ask for your input, in fact I told you directly I didn't want it but you and your pals here continue to persist.

If this is the standard of professionalism in Irish dentistry, you have made my mind up for me.

MODS PLEASE DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS ON THIS THREAD, THEY SHOULD REMAIN FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.

QueenieB

Even though I often lament the cost of dentistry in Ireland, I have to agree with Oral Surgeon's stance. It stands to reason that if a lot of work needs to be done, it should be done over time, allowing proper healing, correct fits and refits if necessary and regular checkups. The age-old adage is true:- if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. I wouldn't even consider going abroad, no matter how tempting the ads and promises, because I cannot afford to lose/waste that money if things go wrong. Consider:- if it does go wrong and serious damage is done, how do you go about pursuing the foreign dentists for compensation/repair? Can you afford the repairs which will always cost more than the original work? At least in Ireland, the dentist is within the same jurisdiction and easier to pursue (worst case scenario - no disrespect to any good dentists intended). There will always be "cheaper" options out there, so don't be naive, lured by the ads, be smart. Accept that you will have to spend money to get a good, long-lasting job. Look at how you can maximise your savings - credit union loans are great (personal bias - they have always helped us - our eternal gratitude). Then find a good dentist here or in NI who will work consistently and over a period of time with you. Also, don't be afraid of negotiating with a dentist. They have to earn a living too and pay for supplies, but it never hurts to ask if there is any wiggle room for the guarantee of a lot of work....

Wishing you the very best and I really hope you come out smiling!
PS I am not a dentist nor a fan of the "orthodontical" arts!

btkm8unsl0w5r4

crystallamp wrote: »

I'm glad you find this all so amusing. Posting dodgy pictures and making fun of my situation

You're supposed to be a professional. I have stated on this post I'm fragile and very low about my teeth and self esteem.

I didn't ask for your input, in fact I told you directly I didn't want it but you and your pals here continue to persist.

If this is the standard of professionalism in Irish dentistry, you have made my mind up for me.

MODS PLEASE DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS ON THIS THREAD, THEY SHOULD REMAIN FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.

You asked for actual patient experiences, I have given you two experiences of actual patients. I find this dead serious and not amusing at all, infact I find a lot of this stuff upsetting for patients, who get upset in my office. You can go back through my posts over the years, I have dozens of cases posted all different cases. All actual patients who agree to allow me to display their cases. I am in no way making fun of your situation, I am sorry if you feel that way. I am offering you a my considerable experience of this. If its positive only feedback you want thats a bit unbalanced and you should ask why its so hard to get (given that retreatment of failed dentistry is my business).

Will people stop back seat moderating, this is a open forum if posts are within the forum charter. The moderators will decide what is left and what is deleted within those rules. It is not for the OP to set the rules of reply.

daveohdave

They explicitly asked for experiences from patients, and they implicitly asked dentists not to post. It's crystal clear.

I won't argue with you about it though, I know that's against the rules. To that end, I've filed a complaint here.

Ardeehey

Good god, there's no rule that I aware of stating that certain people can't post, it's a discussion forum, if you want to ignore their input then do so. The OP doesn't have control over who replies regardless of their wishes...grow up and choose to either read or not read the feedback/opinions received.

Daisy 55

Hi OP. Both my husband and I have had some dental work done in Budapest, including some crowns. Was a lot cheaper than home and have not had any problems afterwards. Didn't find that we were pushed to have any extra work done. Dentists have always had good English. Found it to be a very satisfactory process in all.

QueenieB

Hi again OP

One last word:- Some of the foreign dentists have offices (or could be agreements with Irish dentists, not 100% sure) for aftercare and checkups, etc. in Ireland. Maybe that is something you should look into if still considering going abroad, for peace of mind.

Cheers

nick 56

As an Irish citizen of Hungarian decent I would wish to make a couple of points.

My dentist in Dublin filled a tooth and a week later my mouth swelled up and I was able to get an emergency appointment for next day and get an x ray and antibiotics. At a later appointment it was decided that all was well but I go every 6 months for a check-up. (My teeth are poor)

Dentists are good and bad in every country, Irish dentists are expensive but you live here and you need your dentist to be available at relatively short notice especially if you like me have poor teeth.

I suspect Irish dentists are overpriced and since dentists and dental surgeons are responding to this thread they might chose to tell us what their hourly rates are and how they work out the prices they charge

One suggestion, have you tried or thought of trying a dentist in Northern Ireland.

PS my mum had all her teeth out in her 20s she said it was the best thing she ever did

Dianthus

Everything (rates, rent, utilities, wages, equipment, services, transport ect) is expensive versus Hungary, that's a fact!
As a patient, you pay the wage of the nurse& receptionist, as well as the dentist. People tend to forget there's a whole team involved in their treatment, not just one person....
All dental practices are obliged by the Irish Dental Council to display their prices- you can google most, or find them in a practice waiting room.
Most dentists will offer a discount for a large volume of treatment.
As a by the by, the last laboratory bill I saw for a single dental crown was £298.15 (sterling)....that was for the lab bill alone, totally separate from the dentists'.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Nick 56, this is not about nationality it's about "dental tourism". I assume you are not recommending to anyone they have their teeth out? As and Irish citizen, what do you get paid in comparison to your Hungarian counterpart?

again to reiterate the dentists on here have the right of reply, like they reply to all the advice threads about tooth aches, braces, wisdom teeth etc. it is not for posters to decide who can post on a thread, open a thread does not impart ownership of the content. Also when I am not posting in bold I am not moderating and I can have an opinion like everyone else

helimachoptor

I'm a mod, not a dentist.

I had an implant in NI, then had to get it fixed down here. I have 2 crowns and 2 RCs


Now that i've got that off my chest!!

We've had a few people say they got great service abroad, however where's the proof? these people could be anyone?
As OS pointed out above, the one person who have "proof" of great care abroad was shilling their own company

None of the mods here are banned/edited or in anyway stopped anyone from posting their previous experiences.

OP, you can view the posts of OS, Fitz, davo and the other dentists with disdain if you want, but they are dental professionals and are re-treating these peoples.

OS said hit the nail on the head, dental tourism is the issue here.
If you were in hungary or india or wherever working things would likely go smoothly, flying over for 2 days of "trying to fit as much in as possible before your departure flight" is not going to end well.


To compare that to a non dental world, my company has a ban on same day flights for meetings, basically you cant get up in the morning fly somewhere for a meeting, then fly home after it.
The reason is everything is rushed, you dont maximize the potential from the meeting. The same applies in the case of dental tourism.

crystallamp

I have no doubt that free speech is encouraged and everyone can weigh in with an opinion and advice, but it was basic manners that was being asked of here. I read lots of other posts, I made it clear what I was asking for (patient feedback) and the dentists saw the opportunity to take over the post and try and discourage me from going abroad.

From what I can see there is an old boys mentality on this forum and what happened on the other Hungary post (OP being belittled and sneered at by Irish Dentists) has also happened here to me.

And they keep mentioning the same woman again and again to slag her off, but I think perhaps they should look at their own behaviour first. If anything, this post has soured me against Irish dentistry.

Thank you to the couple of people who responded with honest patient feedback (with no vested interests).

crystallamp

I also see that the Dentist Mod has banned the guy who was speaking up for me on this thread for three months. I'm actually incredibly shocked at such carry on.

Oral Surgeon

crystallamp wrote: »

I have no doubt that free speech is encouraged and everyone can weigh in with an opinion and advice, but it was basic manners that was being asked of here. I read lots of other posts, I made it clear what I was asking for (patient feedback) and the dentists saw the opportunity to take over the post and try and discourage me from going abroad.

From what I can see there is an old boys mentality on this forum and what happened on the other Hungary post (OP being belittled and sneered at by Irish Dentists) has also happened here to me.

And they keep mentioning the same woman again and again to slag her off, but I think perhaps they should look at their own behaviour first. If anything, this post has soured me against Irish dentistry.

Thank you to the couple of people who responded with honest patient feedback (with no vested interests).

Op, no one was being rude to you. Don't take our opinions so personal. The only person being rude was that guy who was later banned. Did he/she provide any useful input....?

crystallamp

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

Op, no one was being rude to you. Don't take our opinions so personal. The only person being rude was that guy who was later banned. Did he/she provide any useful input....?

I didn't think he was being rude, he was defending my position. I wasn't stating that no one else should post here, but I was being bombarded with horror stories, when I wanted to hear first hand from the patients themselves.

P. Breathnach

helimachoptor wrote: »

...
We've had a few people say they got great service abroad, however where's the proof? these people could be anyone?
As OS pointed out above, the one person who have "proof" of great care abroad was shilling their own company
...

I suppose I could be anyone, but my record on Boards might suggest that I am not here to shill.

I got a lot of work done in Budapest, at about one-third of the price I would have paid in Ireland. Several years on, I'm still happy with the results.

I now use a practice in Ireland for check-ups and cleaning (& one minor filling). The quality of my crowns and bridges was never raised as a concern.

Beano

helimachoptor wrote: »

...

To compare that to a non dental world, my company has a ban on same day flights for meetings, basically you cant get up in the morning fly somewhere for a meeting, then fly home after it.
The reason is everything is rushed, you dont maximize the potential from the meeting. The same applies in the case of dental tourism.

I couldnt get you to email that to my boss could i? 18-20 hour days are great fun.

apologies for the OT posst. We now return to our scheduled programming.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Here is a first hand story for you

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055998870

followed by

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=70929624

Another

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055628532

An here is a guy who is happy, but read the thread and see what happened.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056526627


I am sorry I have no positive stories for you, but dont click on the above if you want.

helimachoptor

Straight from the horses mouth (sorry valerie)

OP, i think you have the relevant information you need to make a decision.

Pros
Cheaper
Done in a couple of days

Cons
Will cost more in time to fix
Done in a couple of days

crystallamp

helimachoptor wrote: »

Straight from the horses mouth (sorry valerie)

OP, i think you have the relevant information you need to make a decision.

Pros
Cheaper
Done in a couple of days

Cons
Will cost more in time to fix
Done in a couple of days

I don't know why you feel the need to keep weighing in with advice. You're not a Dentist, you're not a patient, it's clear you just muscle in on these posts to back up your Irish dentist buddies?

Anyway, thank you to those actual patients who responded. Very helpful.

Didn't bother clicking any of the links there Fitzgeme. You are really only out to protect your own & I've had numerous PM's advising me of this (yet none from any Hungarian clinics)

Looking forward to continuing my research and getting the smile I cannot afford in rip off Republic.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

This thread will be here for a long time for all to read. Maybe somebody else will read it and draw different conclusions than you OP. A resource with only one side of the story is not a valid resource. I do hope you get the smile your after.

Oh BTW Helimachopter is a patient, reread his posts on this thread.

Big_G

OP, I'm sorry to hear that you find yourself in a predicament with regard to your teeth. I'm sorry, too, that you feel you cannot afford corrective treatment in Ireland.

It seems that you have made up your mind with regard to going abroad and you have come here looking for testimonials to reinforce your decision. You seem to be displaying a bit of cognitive dissonance, that is, hearing or seeing evidence that is contrary to your position, you dismiss it out of hand as it doesn't reinforce your belief.

Might I suggest that you see a dentist who listens to you, who asks you about how you feel about your teeth and what your goals and desires are and provides a treatment plan that matches those goals.

Someone once said to me that price is very often a concern when it comes to dentistry, but is very rarely THE concern. I'm sure a competent dentist could provide a range of treatment options that might suit a budget, or stage a treatment plan so that your finances wouldn't take a hit all at once.

I find when talking to patients the above rings very true. There is, however, a minority for whom price is THE primary concern. I worry that these people will only get what they pay for, which is usually not very much.

There seems, also to be a perception from people that dentistry in Ireland is simply unaffordable and so people don't even investigate the possibility of having treatment here which seems to be what is happening here. I would say consult a dentist, you might be surprised (in a good way )

The unfortunate thing is that foreign clinics often sound like a very attractive option with speed and price sounding fantastic, the problem is that we must think of the lifetime of a tooth when treatment planning. Every time we cut into a tooth we are shortening its lifespan. Therefore we must be very careful about how and when we do this. This requires skill experience and expertise. We want to make sure that what we do lasts a reasonable amount of time (nothing lasts forever). There is no incentive for the foreign dentist to do this as he/she knows that they are not likely to see you again and if they do they can brush you off (I once had a patient ask me to fly to Hungary to confront his Hungarian dentist with him).

The allure of cheap dentistry is there for sure, but what the dentists here are trying to say is that you are not comparing like with like.

I wish you the best of luck, and hope you get excellent treatment.

InTheTrees

I think the OP understands the issues involved with going to another country and that is why they are asking for patient testimonials. They've heard the horror stories before, we all have. Not wanting to hear them over and over again doesnt mean one is ignoring them.

It seems to me the OP is not making hasty decisions but is attempting to do the necessary research to find a reputable foreign dentist.

I don't believe for one second that all "foreign" treatment is substandard. Id like to hear from an Irish dentist who's encountered excellent work from a foreign practice.

Anyone?

And also its pretty easy to see a boards members previous posts so you can get an idea if theyre just here to promote their business.

InTheTrees

I came to this thread because my gf has many many issues. She sometimes talks about her teeth as being made of sand they're so bad.

The twist is that I am Irish and she is American and we live in the United States (the land of exhorbitant medical costs) and I was encouraging her to be a dental "tourist" to ireland.

Given the responses to the OP's innocent question I'm now a little wary.

It seems to me the responses are that any dentist in a foreign country is going to do shoddy work because they wont have to worry about the follow up care. The idea is that its not lower costs, taxes, insurance etc that makes foreign treatment less expensive but substandard treatment.

Or am I wrong?