Dental trips go overseas

Increasing numbers of Norwegians are travelling abroad for dental care, since dentists at home are expensive and insurance coverage minimal. One clinic in Budapest is treating around 100 Norwegian patients a month.

A "trip to the dentist" is taking on a whole new meaning, as Norwegians seek to cut dental costs in a country where dental insurance is rare. For some retirees on a fixed income, getting a new crown or two can swallow half-a-month's income.

Dental care in countries like Sweden, Estonia, Poland, Hungary and Turkey can cost a fraction of what Norwegian dentists charge, and the quality is considered first-rate. Even after paying for airfare and hotels, most Norwegian dental patients come out way ahead.

And travelling to Budapest or Istanbul, for example, when combined with a holiday, can simply be more fun.

"I needed two implants and 15 new crowns," Johannes Dybdahl, age 67, told newspaper Aftenposten. He travelled to Budapest to have the work down.

"It would have cost at least NOK 100,000 (more than USD 16,000) in Norway, but here they do it for NOK 35,000," he said. Dybdahl, who's lives on the island of Karmøy in western Norway, had his first appointment at Kreativ Dental in Budapest and was one of around 40 Norwegians being treated at the clinic this week.

Magnar Varsi, age 57, was in a similar situation a few years ago. "I needed complete renovation of my teeth and my dentist in Norway said it would cost NOK 250,000," Varsi said. "I didn't have the money, so I checked around on the Internet for alternatives."

He found Kreativ Dental in Budapest, traveled to Hungary and had the work done for NOK 70,000. The result was better than he'd hoped for, he told friends in Norway, others followed and now he's working nearly full time referring Norwegian patients to overseas dental care.

Other dental trips go to Warsaw, Stockholm and Tallinn, where some dental clinics also help arrange housing for those needing follow-up care.

Source: Aaftenposten