$9000 vs $2300: Is it worth going overseas for dental treatment?

Katherine, a friend, went to the dentist a couple of weeks back.

She had two dental implants, an extraction and a bone graft, several X-rays, a CT scan and had her teeth cleaned. She reported the side of her mouth was a bit numb for a couple of hours afterwards but had no pain. She slept well that night and there have been no issues since. She also had an extensive consultation with the senior dentist at the practice, who outlined the reasons Katherine was having so many problems with her teeth, specifically teeth cracking, and what needs to be done about it. Total cost was $2300.

The dentist is located in the southern suburbs of New Delhi, India. Katherine was inspired to seek overseas dental care after a visit to her regular Sydney dentist. For one dental implant including a bone graft, she was quoted almost $9000. In October, she’ll return to New Delhi to have further dental treatment, including having the crowns attached.

The difference is stark. The cost of dental treatment in Australia can be astronomical, particularly for work such as root canal therapy, crowns and implants. Since its inception, our Medicare system has not included dental care, and private health insurance often covers only a fraction of the cost. Particularly as people get older and their teeth deteriorate, quite a few patients either delay treatment or go without. According to the article Dental Tourism in India published on website ResearchGate, in 2022-23, 2.3 million Australians skipped or delayed necessary dental care because of the cost.

Some are hitting their superannuation to cover the cost of dental treatment and for others, seeking treatment overseas is the only way to get the care they need. According to Taylor Blackburn, an insurance specialist at Finder, “When you’re facing a $10,000 quote for dental work in Sydney, and a clinic in India or Thailand is offering the exact same procedure for $2500, even factoring in flights and accommodation the financial maths is impossible for many Australians to ignore.”

The next steps

In Katherine’s case, after she received the quote for her implant in Australia, the possibility of medical treatment overseas seemed like an option worth exploring. So she went searching the internet and AI. She had an existing commitment requiring her to spend a few days in New Delhi in early March so that was the obvious place to look.

After checking reviews from patients – locals as well as foreigners – and whittling down the possible contenders, she got in touch with Dent Ally in South Delhi. They responded, followed by a phone hook-up which gave Katherine the confidence to book an appointment.

Is it safe to have dentistry done in India?

Quite a few Australian dentists are keen to stress the problems that can arise when patients seek dental care overseas. Next Smile Australia, a dental implant specialist, has a whole page on its website under the headline “The Hidden Dangers of Dental Tourism”.

India has accredited, vetted clinics with world-class facilities and internationally trained dentists. The risks are real but manageable, and depend heavily on clinic selection. Many Indian dentists hold university degrees and a large number were trained or certified abroad in the US, UK or Australia. The Dental Council of India sets standards for education and practice, and top clinics are accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers. Leading clinics use 3D Cone Beam Computed Tomography and digital software to plan, fabricate custom surgical guides and place implants with high precision, on par with leading Australian practices.

However, India and other developing countries lack uniform regulation over dental practitioners. There is often no single national framework for dental tourism specifically. Quality varies widely between clinics. If your treatment goes wrong and you have problems after you return home, Australian dentists may refuse to fix work done overseas, or the costs might be higher than if treatment was performed in Australia in the first instance. The key question isn’t whether India is safe, but how to choose the right provider.

The importance of doing due diligence can’t be underestimated for anyone seeking dental or other medical treatment overseas. The recommendation of a friend or relative might be persuasive but it’s vitally important to dig deeper. Verify the practitioner is registered with the relevant medical board or regulatory authority in that country. Confirm their qualifications are genuinely from accredited institutions, check how long they’ve been practising and their specific experience with your procedure.

Check whether the hospital or clinic holds international accreditation. The gold standard is Joint Commission International, which applies rigorous standards. However, this accreditation is more usual for hospitals than dental clinics. Ask how many times the practitioner has performed your specific procedure you’re looking to undergo, and the outcomes.

What about travel insurance?

Will travel insurance cover you if you have complications after you return to Australia following medical treatment overseas? No, according to Blackburn. “Everyday travel insurance is designed for unexpected emergencies – like a sudden toothache or knocking out a tooth on a moped. It explicitly excludes elective procedures and any complications that arise from them, which falls under the banner of medical tourism,” he said.

“On top of this, standard travel insurance policies cease to cover you once you return to Australian soil. If you get a crown or an implant in India and it fails or gets infected a week after you fly home, your travel insurance provider will not pick up the tab. There are specialised ‘medical tourism insurance’ policies out there that you can buy specifically for going overseas for procedures, but they can be expensive, and you have to read the fine print very carefully regarding what complications they will cover once you return.”

The decision to seek dental treatment overseas comes down to a careful weighing of cost against risk. With the right provider, the treatment can be excellent, but this is not a decision to make lightly. The due diligence required is real, you can assume no insurance back-up and the consequences of a poor choice can follow you home.

Dental tourism isn’t a shortcut, it’s an alternative pathway and the best outcomes depend not just on where you go, but on how well you prepare before you get there.