During a recent trip to Budapest I became somewhat enamoured with the city, and thanked my travelling companion for bringing me over there. On a previous visit my friend had become rather more enamelled than enamoured in the city having visited to undergo dental work! It may sound like a strange sort of tourism but health tourism is on the up and up and Budapest is currently a mecca for those travelling abroad to get their teeth fixed. Fortunately for me I have teeth which don't currently need any sort of work, otherwise I might be tempted to pack my toothbrush and head for the Hungarian capital. A wealth of spas and fantastic architecture provided a sublime backdrop to the city and in the greying crepuscular light we waltzed through the streets exposing our teeth to the locals, mine having been in place rather a long time, my friend's a new addition to their cheeky, ever expanding grin. The thermal spas in the city have been an attraction to maurading foreigners such as myself since the Romans tapped the warm springs to the West of the Danube. It seems that health tourism has more of a relationship with the history of the city than at first appears, a history shared by Roman emperors and neurotic middle-aged women whose penchant for red wine and cigarettes is written all over their mouth, sorry, was written all over their mouth. The grandest of these spas is Gelert spa and hotel, with it's Art Noveau interiors and elegant decadence we were able to relax in style in this complex, drinking our drinks through straws to avoid the inevitable human decay!

Having dental implants can be quite a daunting prospect, whether you have had some traumatic accident or if there has been acidic erosion you may have to replace teeth which you have lost. Nobody wants to walk around like a witch or wild-west town drunk scaring locals with a toothless grin, but there is more to desiring dental implants than mere vanity. Many people will have difficulty eating without replacing lost teeth and as such this is a vital procedure to maintain their lifestyle. A dental implant is an artificial substitute or replacement for the root portion of your natural tooth and is securely anchored into a pre-drilled socket in your jaw-bone to support a crown, bridge or secure a denture firmly in place. Implants are made from titanium, a safe and strong material that is effeciently accepted by bone and integrates easily with bone tissue. As you will see from this picture any patient requiring this surgery will need to have bone in the jaw into which implants may be anchored, it is still possible to have dental implants if there is no bone but this will require a bone graft:

Autografts

The bone to be grafted onto the jaw is taken from your own body. This is the most successful grafting technique.

Allografts

Bone is taken from another human donor that is compatible with your body. Your body ‘converts’ the donor bone into your natural bone.

Xenografts

The bone is taken from animals, usually cows. It undergoes special processing to make it biocompatible and sterile. Over time, your body will replace this ‘filler’ bone with natural bone.

Alloplastic grafts

This is a man-made material (usually a form of calcium phosphate) that mimics natural bone. Its purpose is to stimulate the body to create enough natural bone for the placement of dental implants.
(Source: Private Healthcare UK)

Dental treatment abroad

The average cost of having dental implants in the UK is high compared to some parts of the EU with many people deciding to have dental treatment abroad so as to reduce the cost of procedures that they need to undergo. Surgery such as dental implants has increased as patients look to the continent to find effecient and cost-effective procedures. many companies within the UK can organise for such treatment to be carried out as part of treatment packages and this allows for good after care and contact with surgeries.

Many people have now undergone treatment in these state- of- the- art facilities and it is important to understand what to expect when travelling abroad for surgery. Are there different standards? Do patients experience the same insurance cover? Will there be any legal recourse in the case of surgery not going as planned? These and many other questions will be anwered for you here.

Are we being ripped off for UK dental treatments?

We are all often guilty of assuming that the health care we receive will be without fault, putting our teeth in the hands of true professionals who would put our needs before any notion of financial gain or personal arrogance. But is our legacy of dental treatment as cherished and competitive as we would like to believe. We have seen recent reports suggesting that some cracks are starting to appear in our dental service and with recession reaching it's endless tentacles out into all walks of are dentists beginning to pass on their financial woes.
The cost of being treated in the UK has sky-rocketed in the last five years and many people are now choosing to look abroad for some of the standard procedures which have been previously affordable in this country. Here is an example of dental malpractice highlighting some of the concerns that are starting to make people question the quality of dental treatment in this country, or rather starting to question the value for money that local services offer:

A Dentist who left a pensioner unable to eat and in constant pain after botching her implants was allowed to carry on working, under supervision, yesterday.

Steven-Bal Sharma, one of the UK's top false teeth specialists, charged the 70-year-old almost £9,000 for the treatment and then "belittled" her when she complained that she could not chew properly. (Source: The Scotsman)
Now I'm not saying that this is a widespread situation, or that we are entering what the media may refer to as a widespread epidemic of poor dentistry, but living in a society based on choice we should nmot be so overloaded with options that we always revert back to the safety of what we know. Have a look, don't get ripped off.

Access Smile cheap dental treatment

Many affordable dental care treatments are available with Access Smile. Our team of specialist staff are on hand to provide a comprehensive range of low-cost treatments.

We offer cosmetic treatments such as tooth bleaching, bridge work and composite fillings to help you achieve a sparkling smile, along with other extremely popular services such as our Advance zoom whitening service.

We provide the best possible care whether you are looking for new veneers, a set of dentures or a tooth extraction. Careful consultation with our team based in the UK allows you to make well-informed decisions about which treatments will be best for you, before arriving in Budapest.

Our dedication to the best possible all-round care is continued by offering all necessary pre-treatment procedures, from X-rays and ozone sterilisation to holistic dental hygiene treatments. This allows us to ensure that every stage of your treatment is available at our state-of-the-art clinic.

With highly-qualified dentists and orthodontists working at Access Smile, oral surgery and orthodontic work are also available, alongside our range of cosmetic procedures. More extensive treatments such as tooth implants or gum reshaping are carried out by our team with focused individual attention and after-care. Longer term orthodontic work such as getting a lifetime retainer or orthodontic braces are offered by our orthodontic team.

Any dental work that you need will be carried out in a relaxed environment with a fantastic dental team, enabling you to get the most from Access Smile.