Dental Implants Overseas: What the Price Leaves Out

Dental implants overseas can look like a much cheaper option than treatment in Australia. Sometimes they are; sometimes the total ends up closer than it first seems. This guide covers what an overseas quote may leave out, what to plan for, and what to check before you book, with guides to the destinations Australians most often consider. If you’d rather explore treatment closer to home, read about dental implants at Dental Spot in Croydon.

Guides by Destination

• Dental implant cost: Thailand vs Australia
• Dental implants in Bali
• Dental implants in Vietnam
• Dental implants in Malaysia
• Dental implants in the Philippines
• Dental implants in India
• Dental implants in Turkey
• Dental crowns in Thailand
• Veneers in Thailand

What are Dental Implants?

Dental implants can replace a single tooth, several teeth, or a whole arch, and they can also support a denture or bridge. An implant has three parts:

• The implant post: a small, screw-shaped titanium post placed in the jawbone, which fuses with the bone over about three to six months.
• The abutment: the connector that sits partly inside and partly outside the gum and holds the new tooth.
• The crown: the replacement tooth that people see when you smile, made to match your natural teeth. At Dental Spot, we make crowns in our on-site lab.

Before implants can be placed, a dentist needs to check that your mouth is healthy and that you have enough bone to support them. You can read more about the stages of dental implants.

What an Overseas Price May Leave Out

A low headline price doesn’t always cover the whole treatment. Ask each clinic in writing whether the price includes:

• the consultation, X-rays and 3D scan;
• the implant post, the abutment and the crown (some quotes cover the post only);
• any extraction, bone graft or sinus lift;
• the follow-up visits during healing;
• what happens, and who pays, if the implant doesn’t integrate or something needs fixing.

Then add the costs of the trip: flights, accommodation, meals and time off work, often for two trips because implants need months of healing between stages.

In Australia, CHOICE’s guide to dental fees (updated 9 March 2023, using the Australian Dental Association’s 2022 fee survey) puts the average fee for placing one implant at $1,334 to $3,000, and for the abutment at $400 to $1,404, depending on the state. The crown is extra: the survey’s closest item, a veneered crown on a natural tooth, mostly costs $1,250 to $2,100. Scans, extractions and bone grafts add to that. These are published Australian figures, not our fees. Australian private health insurance generally doesn’t cover treatment overseas, while some extras policies pay a benefit towards implants here. Your quote depends on your teeth, so ask us for a written one if you’d like a like-for-like comparison.

Skills and Standards

Standards differ between countries and between clinics. An overseas dentist may be very well trained; the point is to check. In Australia, the Dental Board of Australia⁠ (another site) sets requirements for every registered dentist, including:

• Continuing professional development: dentists must keep their knowledge and skills up to date to stay registered.
• Dental records: dentists must keep accurate records of your care, including past treatment, allergies and medicine reactions.
• Infection control: practices must follow infection control guidelines, including the sterilisation of instruments⁠ (another site) and surgical items such as implants.

Wherever you go, ask about the dentist’s registration and implant experience, the implant brand they use, and how the clinic sterilises instruments.

What to Plan For

• Recovery: after surgery you’ll need to rest and eat soft foods, which can limit what you do while you’re away.
• Follow-up care: implants need check-ups during healing and for years afterwards. Plan where you’ll have them, and how you’ll reach the treating dentist if something needs attention after you’re home.
• Your records: ask for your X-rays and the brand and size of each implant, so a dentist at home can look after them.
• Recourse: if something goes wrong, pursuing a complaint or compensation with a clinic overseas can be harder than at home.

The Australian Dental Association’s position is that Australians should seek elective dental care in Australia (policy statement 2.2.6⁠ (another site)). If you do go overseas, the checks below help.

Before You Book

Smartraveller, the Australian Government’s travel advice service, notes that elective procedures can cost much less in some countries, and that while many hospitals overseas are of a similar standard to Australia’s, quality and standards in some countries can be poor. Its advice before you book treatment overseas includes:

• check that the dentist is registered with the local authority and has indemnity insurance;
• check whether your travel insurance covers complications from the treatment;
• get copies of your records to bring home.

Talk to Us

If you’re weighing up dental implants overseas, we’re happy to explain what treatment here would involve and cost.

Sources

1. How much does the dentist cost?⁠ (another site), CHOICE, updated 9 March 2023
2. Medical tourism⁠ (another site), Smartraveller
3. Policy statement 2.2.6: Elective overseas dental treatment⁠ (another site), Australian Dental Association