As Irish dental costs rise, people consider treatment abroad IMTJ Online
• *Dental implants jump to the top of the list. Price is their primary concern, and with implants starting around €1500 at home and around €600 in Hungary it is no wonder that they are asking about treatment abroad. Surprisingly the relatively inexpensive teeth whitening is also very popular, as is the other cosmetic favourite, dental veneers. Even more surprising though is that braces abroad are so popular. With regular visits needed to tighten and adjust most braces, travelling abroad each time can prove to be very expensive.A recent study showed that operating costs for Irish dentists are much higher than their equivalents in Northern Ireland. The Irish Dental Association says that dentists have frozen or reduced their professional fees in recent months, but cannot absorb all the costs of the reduced payment from the government. Fintan Hourihan of the IDA said, “ It is a disgrace that people are being made pay the same level of social insurance from their wages but are receiving less in benefits. If a regular insurance company tried it, they would be run out of town but the Government has got away with yet another stealth tax, which is set to cause serious damage to the dental health of the nation. Dentists are trying to keep costs as low as possible but inevitably some of the costs previously borne by government will end up being borne by patients.”
