When Is It Worth It To Travel Abroad

The cost of dental treatment in the UK is outrageously high. Many countries offer the same level of treatment with highly accomplished, practicing dentists at a fraction of the cost. The question is which one to go with, and where to go -and of course, at what price does it start to be worth it to travel. A filling or a single crown may not be worth an unplanned week off, for example, but a complete bridge or 5 dental implants are definitely. But where is the line? I intend to look at a general picture and give an idea of when it is worth it to travel abroad for dental treatment. I am going to be taking the most popular dental tourism destination, Budapest as the basis for this examination. Please be aware that different destinations may have different prices available.  

A Quick Calculation

The easiest way to get an idea of how much you will be saving, if you will be saving any money at all, is to do a quick and easy calculation. Let me walk you through the steps.

1) Get a quote from your local dentist regarding a pressing dental issue, or a series of dental treatments from your treatment plan.

2) Get a quote from the dentist who would be seeing you in Budapest. Often, a preliminary cost is the only thing they can give you without a consultation session, but often enough, Hungarian dentists will go to London on a regular basis for business, and if they can have a consultation session then, they should be able to provide a quote soon enough.

3) Subtract the Budapest price from the UK price, the amount you are left with is how much cheaper the treatment is abroad. 

4) Get a quote on airfare and accommodations, in other words, travel expenses. Subtract that total amount from your savings. The amount of money you are left with is how much money you will be saving by going abroad.  

Other Expenses To Consider

As anybody who has done any travelling knows, this is not the end of the calculation, this is simply a pure number of the actual savings you will make by traveling abroad for dental treatment. There are of course other expenses, such as the price of food, but as Hungary is much cheaper than the UK, you will be saving money on groceries or by eating out everyday, and let’s face it, you will be eating food even if you stay at home.
The other main source of spending is cab fare to and from the airport. In London, this can be 30-40 pounds one way, which you will need to pay if you do not have a car. In Hungary the cab fare is usually paid for by the travel agency or dental tourism company who is booking your visit, so you only have to worry about getting to and from the airport in London, as taxi trips to and from the clinic, accommodations and airport are paid for.
That leaves only one thing to consider-how much money will be lost by not going to work. Most of us will be forced to take sick leave or vacation-paid or unpaid-in order to complete a dental treatment abroad. The money thus lost should be considered and calculated, but the loss can be minimized by taking a vacation, perhaps with the entire family, in the country where the dental treatment will be performed.

 

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