Hi all,
Because of logistical scenarios, I am , right now, considering a dentist here.
Quick version : Need some implants and some extractions and treatment probably. I know this will be pricey. I have 2 scenarios, each with it’s own “problem”
A. Go to my home country, do it cheaper, do not have necessarily a guarantee that the work done will be ok, or with latest tech.
Problems : I have a dog, kinda hard to leave her alone for such long periods (am looking into solutions). Due to the amount of operations this would require a lot of going back and forth from here to my home town, and I can not work remotely in another country.
B.Try to do it here. Probably 4 X times the costs compared to other places.
No more dog problems, but price wise, would it be worth it to do it here ? I know there is home extra dental insurance here, but not sure how it works(or if it can be used in this manner, or does it cover these types of scenarios ?), and if it would be worth it… so yes I would ask some opinions on this part.
And yes, looking for suggestions for some dental cliniques that work with implants and you had good results.
All the best,
Alex
I did implant abroad. It’s important to find an experienced dentist you could trust to put the implant, so that was the reason I did it in my home country. I simply couldn’t find a good recommendation from trusted source here.
I took two weeks of vacation to put the implant, mainly since it was my first time. The first few days (7 IIRC) after the drilling are most important. If nothing bad happens, the stitches are removed and you can rest in peace for a few months. I guess next time I’ll just fly for the procedure, then fly again to remove the stitches/checkup. When the implant integrates, it’s a breeze to install the crown. I gave myself one month more before I went to install the crown, to avoid any possibility that the implant wasn’t yet ready.
However, keep in mind that there are several manufactures of the implants. I had occlusion correction some time after having the implant and the doctors advised me to go to my home country to do it, otherwise they would have to charge me for buying the specific tool to remove the crown on my implant. The cost wasn’t scary, but the flight was cheaper, and the whole procedure cost me less than I would have to pay here so the choice was obvious.
A good freind went here https://www.helvetic-clinics.co.uk/ Even with the costs of he Budapest flights he says he saved over half of Swiss prices.
Many Swiss go to the dentists on the border with Germany - in Bietingen or Konstanz. I wouldn’t travel further away than that because you don’t know what kind of complications may occur, then what? If you want to save money and are not sure about going to Swiss dentists, Germany is so much closer than other places. Here;
Re: your insurance question. It will likely be too late to get insurance as any dental insurance will want a form that asks about work that is planned and they will exclude that.
But if you want to think about it for the future my recommendation is to take out the one with Groupe Mutuel - it’s what I consider the best ROI in terms of price and payout for adults.
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Thank you all for your replies.
I also asked some colleagues and some of them had crappy experiences with dentists in Germany (they went a bit above the border just to not have “Swiss” prices – and in the end, they ended up here in the ER) .
The Hungarian ones → will take a look
Dr Hager → I actually saw some adverts in the bus here (so I would guess they might be 20 % cheaper than here)
Still waiting to see what “the offer” would be if I take the extra dental insurance with CSS
But leaning towards a more eastern country it seems. Thanks for all your input.
There are more German dentists over the border btw, you don’t have to pick that one. And I think you can save more than 20%. If you add all the travelling expenses AND the time…anyway, I guess everyone has their own views on this theme.
I wouldn’t go for cheaper price per se. It’s an advantage if the doctor is also good, but wasted of money and your health otherwise. Look for the best doctor in the first place.
I’ve spent 20k for the dentist bills, even more if you’d count the flights, but since then my teeth are perfect. I just go once a year, pay peanuts for checkup and descaling, that’s all. No more bruxism, once they are “as new”, complete set, perfectly aligned, etc.
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Very good points but it means you have to find a dentist you can trust and friends’s recommendations are such a hit and miss. I was often recommended professionals by friends and wasn’t always impressed, there were either the prices, quality or availability issues.
In this regard random people’s reviews on the internet can be equally bad…or good.
Anyways, for full disclosure I never used dr. Hager I mentioned here but was thinking to give it a try as I have a couple of fillings that might need to be replaced. Fortunately, for years long I only needed 1-2 DH sessions per year. I still think it’s worth a short trip to Germany but who knows. We do have a dentist here but if she tells me it’s gonna cost me a few thousands francs for two fillings…sigh.
If Zurich area then try Mark Margolin. He is a native English speaker and has always done a great job at fair prices. Once I had a back tooth break (fortunately just shy of the nerve). In one sitting he 3D mapped it, CNCed and baked the ceramic insert and fixed it. All up 2 hours. He is passionate about his work.
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Thank you for your recommendation, litespeed! In all fairness, the praxis we go now is very well equipped but it seems too expensive even for the Swiss standards. I also dont like their lack of transparency - for instance OH has had a recent treatment plan (and I suspect some of it was simply unnecessary or non-urgent if you like) and the bill was…I had sore eye when I saw it. Everything is expensive there - even the DH is more expensive than in most places I checked out and is not even the best I have ever had!
So it’s worth shopping around. Last time I went to DH I had a quick check-up with the dentist afterwards (when I say quick it was like 5 minutes) and she mentioned casually I need two replacements of some old fillings. Uhm OK, but she should take her time to assess the situation properly and also send me a quote which she didn’t…yet. Mainly I don’t like her communication style or lack thereof.
The good part was that she is working with an orthodontist and half of my family needed orthodontic treatment so we got stuck with her too. (orthodontic treatments are expensive everywhere so never questioned too much those bills)
But, talking about the OP - if he needs more complicated treatment such implants (I never had those) IMHO these are more serious treatments that require a lot of visits so wouldn’t choose a far away dentist.