Dental Tourists Target Hungary

Posted by Amanda Kendle Sep 18, 2006

Why do you take a holiday? To rest and relax, to see something new, to get new impressions, to learn about a new culture or practise a foreign language? All of these sound like good reasons to me. How about to get your teeth fixed?

I've never liked a trip to the dentist and I never thought I'd see the day when you could type the phrase "dental tourism" into Google and get a stack of results. Of all Eastern Europe, Hungary seems the most popular destination these days for Western tourists needing a bridge, crown or some other complicated dental work.

The reason, of course, is that it's often much cheaper to have your teeth fixed in Hungary or elsewhere than at home - even factoring in the cost of flights and accommodation. Apparently it's becoming relatively common even for Americans to fly as far as Hungary, but the boom market now is amongst Britons. If I plan another trip to Hungary, I'd prefer to be swimming with the lilies at Heviz or bathing in Budapest's fancy Gellert Baths, rather than having to see the dentist, but obviously not everyone shares my opinion. What do you think?