Paying less expensive dental care is possible in countries where skilled labor is cheap and where taxes are much lower. This is why more and more patients are traveling abroad to have their teeth treated with reimbursement in their country of origin.
The treatments offered at discounted prices abroad are as follows:
– The placement of dental implants or crowns, to replace one or more missing teeth.
– The placement of dental veneers or whitening to embellish your smile.
– The repair of the entire dentition (to avoid the denture).
Today, dental tourism is well reimbursed by social security and the patient’s mutual fund, provided that the care has been carried out within the European Union. In addition, the placement of implants and crowns can cost up to half as much. In addition to attractive prices, treatment times are shorter than in France where it is sometimes tedious to obtain an appointment and where treatments can last several months.
Here are the best European destinations for dental tourism:
– Eastern Europe: from 450 to 900 euros for dental implants
– Hungary is the country of dental tourism par excellence for the professionalism of its dentists. Its capital, Budapest, has been welcoming patients from all over Europe since 2007. It makes Hungary the undisputed leader in this market with 600,000 patientsover the last 10 years.
– Romania : Did you know that one in six dentists who settle in France studied dentistry in Romania? With one of the best value for money, Romania is attracting more and more patients and is now the second most sought after European country for cheaper dental care.
The disadvantage of Eastern Europe remains the distance: traveling far requires having free time (at least a week), and dental clinics do not always support plane tickets. However, many low-cost flights provide the connection between France and the main European capitals such as Budapest in Hungary or Bucharest in Romania.
4YZyBNA1UeA unsplashThe advantage of going to these countries remains above all the cost of local living (accommodation, transport, food). And in the concept of dental tourism, also called “dental vacation”, there is also the “tourism” part. For example, if you are traveling to redo your teeth in Bucharest, you can also take the opportunity to visit the city between two stages of your treatment.
Other Eastern countries also attract this type of tourism: count 550 euros in Bulgaria for dental implants. Sofia , its capital, is one of the future destinations for dental tourism. Be careful, if Macedonia and Serbia are also entering this market, these two countries are not part of the European Union and the care is therefore not reimbursed by Social Security.
– Western Europe: from 1000 to 1500 euros
If the prices offered are certainly more expensive than in Eastern Europe, neighboring countries are highly sought after by the French to have their teeth treated.
– In Spain: for the installation of a complete dental implant, count 1200 euros against about 2000 euros in France. Barcelona has seen the emergence of many clinics offering these attractive prices and for treatments performed by French-speaking dentists. The proximity of the Catalan city to France will delight cross-border commuters, making the trip less restrictive and expensive.
visit barcelona– In Italy, Germany and Portugal :
Dentists in Italy, Germany and Portugal are also renowned for their expertise in implantology and dental prostheses. These destinations are popular with the French to save up to -30% on their dental prostheses.
If patients are more and more pushed to cross borders to treat their teeth, it is nevertheless necessary to document themselves with precision on the different clinics and their services before choosing their destination. To benefit from the reimbursement of treatment abroad, it is imperative to bring a European health insurance card and require an invoice proving the treatment on site.