Case Study

Meta Title – The Risks Of Dental Implants Abroad – A Patient’s Tale

Meta Description – Despite initial cost savings, the risks of undergoing dental implants abroad are both considerable and far-reaching. Here we talk about one such case.  

Title – The Risks Of Getting Dental Implants Abroad – A Patient’s Cautionary Tale

It’s fair to say that initially, anyway, dental implant treatment in the UK is not particularly cheap. At least not when compared to many Central European countries. So when faced with the prospect of needing multiple implant restorations, over 35,000 Brits last year alone ignored the risks of getting dental implants abroad and instead jumped on a plane bound for destinations like Hungary, Poland and Slovenia for money-saving dental treatment.

One such person was Steve Underwood. Here is his cautionary tale.

“I started losing teeth from an early age, and as my remaining teeth started to drift, they became difficult to clean. Because I couldn’t clean them properly, I began to suffer badly from tooth infections. Over time, many of my remaining healthy teeth became compromised, more tooth loss followed, and the problems snowballed.

Over time, Steve underwent many dental treatments, including bridges and dentures, but they never felt comfortable. Eventually, it got to the point where he had real trouble keeping them in place.

“It became increasingly difficult to function, and it was getting me down.” He said.

“It was then that I realised that I needed to get this sorted out once and for all, so I started looking into getting a full set of fixed teeth done abroad.”

Like many others, Steve felt that the cost of an equivalent treatment here in the UK was unaffordable.

“I felt that I was looking at over double the cost of an equivalent treatment abroad,” He said.

“For me, at least, travelling abroad for treatment seemed like a no-brainer. I’d heard about the risks of getting dental implants abroad, but after reading good reviews online and looking into it, I felt this was the way to go. Everyone seemed to be talking about it, so I made my decision based on that.”

Within a few days, Steve was making enquiries to a practice in Budapest, Hungary, because, in his own words

“After searching online, I found a place in Budapest that offered good prices. It wasn’t deemed the best, but it wasn’t the worst, so I felt it was a good place to start.”

However, during that initial call, he was put on to a patient co-ordinator.

“Initially, I was only making enquiries, but in reality, he was a salesman, you know?” He told me everything was going to be great and then proceeded to give me a load of treatment options.

Previous to this, Steve had already researched, so he knew what treatment he wanted (a complete set of fixed teeth), and that was what he was willing to pay for. The co-ordinator told him that this was a hundred per cent possible.

“After saying this, the guy tells me that he can arrange everything, including flights and accommodation and appeared really keen to get me over,” said Steve  “Because I wanted it done sooner rather than later, all seemed good, so a date was set.”

A few weeks later, Steve set off for the flight to Budapest in good spirits believing that years of dental problems would soon be over. Little did he know that they were just beginning.

“Initially, everything was great. The morning after I arrived, I got picked up from my hotel and taken to a consultation. I was greeted by a friendly reception team who made me feel welcome. They introduced me to the dental surgeon who would be doing the work, but at this point, she told me that it might not be possible to have what I wanted done because of the lack of bone density in my jaw.”

Steve proceeded to tell her what the patient-co-ordinator had previously said, only to be advised that he shouldn’t have guaranteed that. After the situation was discussed some more, Steve tried to get confirmation as to whether or not he would be going home with a set of fixed teeth.

He takes up the story again.

“After further consultation, I was told I would leave with a complete set of fixed teeth, so I agreed to go ahead and have my remaining teeth pulled. A day or so later, I awoke from the initial treatment and was greeted by a complete set of plastic dentures that didn’t fit, even though they had done all the x-rays and taken measurements.

Feeling let down, Steve returned to his hotel with an ill-fitting denture, bleeding quite badly. He was told not to take it out because his mouth needed to form a clot to stem the bleeding. Initially, he was in a lot of discomfort and an unimaginably disgusting taste in his mouth. So eventually, he succumbed and took the appliance out to rinse.

“Finally, things started to calm down’” he said. “I was flying back to the UK the very next day, so the notion of traveling in that much discomfort didn’t bear thinking about” 

He continues.

“I’ve now got false teeth rather than fixed teeth that don’t fit, and I know that if I leave it like this and fly home, I’ve got no chance of redress, so I immediately contacted them and told them that I wasn’t happy with the result.

According to Steve, it was then the whole mood changed.

“They switched from being warm and friendly to frosty and defensive”.

Despite this, between the call and going back to visit the next morning, the clinic made Steve a new set. This time, however, they made the dentures bigger, hoping that suction would work. Inevitably they didn’t and instead had to add a silicone-type material to plug the gaps. 

At first, the material did the job and held the dentures in position. With that, Steve felt a hopeless acceptance that if they stayed in place, he would have to live with it. Unfortunately, time was against him, so he caught his flight back to the UK, figuring that it was only a temporary measure until he was due to return to Budapest for his permanent set – some three and a half months later.

Steve takes up the story.

“After a couple of weeks of wear, It became apparent that my dentures were never going to hold because the silicone-type material was wearing away fast. Eventually, it got to the point where I was using a tube and a half of fixative a week to keep my dentures in place.”

This was the situation Steve found himself in when he came across the team here at Evo Dental.

Although this is just one story, there are many more people like Steve. People who thought they had found the ideal and affordable solution to their dental problems by undergoing implant-based restorations overseas These are just some of the risks of getting dental implants abroad.

Call to action

At Evo Dental, we are the only UK provider focusing exclusively on full jaw dental implant solutions – no dentures. This is ALL we do day in and day out. With flexible payment options allowing you to spread the cost of treatment, our highly skilled clinicians provide permanent, long-term, life-changing fixed teeth solutions. Restorations that are flawlessly designed and perfectly executed.

If you have been told that dentures are the only solution, come and talk to the team at Evo Dental today!